Hudson, New York — August 17, 2009 - Taconic, one of the largest laboratory rodent providers in the world, has been awarded a competitive agreement with Educational & Institutional Cooperative Purchasing (E&I), a member-owned, nonprofit buying co-op for institutions of higher education. With more than 1,600 members, E&I is the largest U.S. group purchasing organization for higher education. This consortium enables college purchasing professionals and other decision makers access to competitively bid agreements with leading business partners to obtain strong value when procuring products and services.
"Taconic's award as a Supplier of E&I is a testament to our long-standing position as a leading provider to the academic community," said Todd Little, Taconic CEO. "Taconic has enjoyed a strong record of success serving investigators across academia, by providing the innovative small rodent models that are vital to their research objectives. We look forward to working closely with the E&I members as we continue to make highly targeted models more readily accessible to researchers in higher education."
"Our new competitively awarded Taconic contract provides our members with a strategic partner to assist them in meeting their research goals," said Tom Fitzgerald, E&I CEO. "With an unrivaled reputation for providing high quality products and services, we are confident that Taconic will be a valuable addition to our growing portfolio for scientific animal models and related services."
The agreement with E&I will enable Taconic to build strong relationships with member institutions that rely on genetically modified and off-the-shelf rodent models in their drug discovery and related research. A competitively awarded contract with E&I streamlines the process for both suppliers like Taconic and E&I members - reducing costs and speeding the delivery of critical products and services to higher education institutions.
As a valued E&I supplier, Taconic will participate in numerous E&I joint marketing initiatives, including industry conferences, on-campus events, and member communications.
About Taconic
Taconic Farms, Inc. was founded in 1952 as a family-owned business in New York's Hudson River Valley. Since then, the company has become one of the largest laboratory rodent providers in the world with a reputation for consistently producing high quality, well-defined rats and mice. Taconic's expertise in the custom design and generation of genetically modified mice, mouse and rat breeding, barrier systems, genetics, and animal health supports researchers focused on drug development using in vivo models. Taconic has six breeding facilities and three service laboratories in the USA and Europe, a staff of over 1,000, and a commitment to technological innovation.
About E&I
Established in 1934 by members of The National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP), Educational & Institutional Cooperative Purchasing (E&I) is a buying cooperative that serves colleges and universities. As the premier group purchasing organization for higher education, E&I uses the combined purchasing power of more than 1,600 member institutions to lower costs on a wide range of products and services. The organization provides members with access to a diverse portfolio of high quality national and regional contracts from best-in-class suppliers. E&I's member-driven competitive solicitation process has been validated by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP). For more information, please go to: www.eandi.org.