Ronald F Sprouse

Immvac, Inc. sprouted from the fertile academic soil of the University of Missouri-Columbia, in a process often called “tech transfer,” the commercialization of technologies originating within the university. The company was founded in 1984 by two MU professors, Ronald Sprouse and Harold Garner, and Sprouse’s wife, Dorothy Sprouse. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, while at MU, Ronald Sprouse and Garner had developed biological agents that led to an array of vaccines and serums for treating production and companion animals. Today, Immvac’s products assist in the protection and treatment of virtually all gram-negative bacteria, many of which are harmful and even deadly to both humans and animals. Common examples of gram-negative bacteria include E. coli and salmonella. Immvac President Kevin Sprouse said his parents developed the company at a time when MU had little experience with tech transfer contracts. Working with veterinary pharmaceutical technology puts Immvac in direct competition with some of the world’s biggest corporations, including pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.