Neogen Corporation Executive, Jim Herbert, Passes Away at 83
Biotech executive left corporate world in 1982 to become CEO of Michigan State University Foundation’s first spinoff company.
The original business plan for Neogen, written in 1981, had a simple mission: “To establish a corporation for the purpose of facilitating commercialization of discoveries from MSU’s biotech research.”
The MSU Research Foundation lost a good friend with the passing of Jim Herbert on March 16, 2024, one of Michigan’s great entrepreneurs.
In 1981, Michigan State University sought to launch a new company to commercialize discoveries from its biotech research. Jim was brought in to lead the company, though he always credited Dr. John Cantlon as responsible for developing the original organization. Together with Willie Wood, Brinton Miller, Frederick Frank, Ted Doan and a cast of thousands, Neogen Corporation was founded in Lansing, and has grown into a diagnostic testing powerhouse that went public in 1989, with the MSU Research Foundation as its first investor.
“Jim was our inaugural Entrepreneur-In-Residence long before the term was coined”, said David Washburn, Executive Director of the MSU Research Foundation. “Pairing a seasoned business executive like Jim with brilliant scientists and investors to launch new enterprises that commercialize work being conducted in University laboratories is the model that persists today. Jim was an outlier and exemplar and successfully navigated the intricacies of university technology commercialization with courage and conviction.”
The original business plan for Neogen, written in 1981, had a clear mission: “To establish a corporation for the purpose of facilitating commercialization of discoveries from MSU’s biotech research.” The goal was to benefit the state of Michigan, Michigan State University and the MSU Foundation by spinning out technologies from the university. MSU aimed to prevent further brain drain of the its most talented students and faculty by establishing the company close to campus. Jim assumed the role of President of Neogen in June of 1982.
Upon joining Neogen, Jim began raising capital, initiating product development, and establishing the organization’s identity. Neogen’s first project involved the development of natural antiviral interferons for treating cattle, swine, horses, and other animals. The goal was to reduce the spread of disease among animals subjected to stressful conditions. Jim identified the need to raise $1 million to get things going, which he achieved through a network of 35 private investors, known today as angel investors. The investment round closed at 2 p.m. on New Year’s Eve in 1982.
Neogen Corporation's growth and development is chronicled in the book “A Mission That Matters: Neogen’s Journey to $400 Million in Revenues.”
Herbert credited Governor James Blanchard with creating the state’s first Research Fund grant. These grants included a $70,000 allocation to Neogen and MSU to collaborate on efforts to build rapid tests that farmers could self-administer.
The company went public in August of 1989. Today, Neogen has thousands of products, generates nearly $1 billion in annual revenue, and has over 2,800 employees worldwide. Herbert led the company from 1982 to 2018, and chronicled its growth and development in the book “A Mission That Matters: Neogen’s Journey to $400 Million in Revenues.” Neogen was a significant investment for the MSU Research Foundation in 1982 and made great returns.
Jim was a native of Memphis and was a proud alumnus of the University of Tennessee (UT). He often told the story of arriving on campus without a place to stay and in need of a job. He found work in the UT greenhouses and spent many nights sleeping on a cot there, thrilled for the opportunity.
A UT supporter and philanthropist, Jim became the namesake of the Herbert College of Agriculture at the University of Tennessee. He and his wife, Judi, also supported UT Ag Research and extension services, the Herbert Scholars Program, the writing center in the UT College of Arts and Sciences, and the Jim and Judi Herbert Excellence in Writing Endowment to support undergraduate tutoring. In Lansing, Jim and Judi supported Sparrow Hospital with a $5 million gift to establish the Herbert-Herman Cancer Center in 2015.
Herbert was named Michigan Entrepreneur of the Year and received honorary doctorates from Michigan State University and Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His impact will be felt for generations and the MSU Research Foundation considers Neogen its first successful startup venture. Rest in Peace, Jim.