Master of Agribusiness

More than a decade developing agribusiness, one leader at a time.

CONTACT: Mary Bowen l 785.532.4435 l mjbowen@ksu.edu l www.mab.ksu.edu

A Strategic Approach to Reducing Mycoplasma Testing Costs

MANHATTAN, KANSAS, May 1, 2018 – Zach Gregoire, St. Joseph, Missouri, defended his thesis, “A
Strategic Approach to Reducing Mycoplasma Testing Costs” on December 20. He is a Microbiologist
for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica. Gregoire will be a spring graduate from Kansas State University
with a Master of Agribusiness (MAB) degree.

Mycoplasma, a bacteria capable of causing health conditions in cattle, swine and poultry animals has
had substantial economic impact on facilities and research centers that use materials of animal origin.
Due to the unique characteristics of the Mycoplasma bacteria, the bacteria can reside in cells and
bypass certain sterilizing filters used in the biological and pharmaceutical industries today, causing
possible contamination. To comply with regulatory requirements, companies that interact with animal
products must conduct expensive and complicated 24-day tests on animal products to identify
possible Mycoplasma growth. By researching killed or inactivated virus products that have been shown
to effectively kill Mycoplasma, a more economically beneficial way to kill Mycoplasma in laboratories
may be discovered.

“If a Mycoplasma contamination is found, a biological or pharmaceutical company can pay large sums
of money to investigate the cause of the contamination, initiate corrective action, decontaminate the
facility and destroy impacted batches” said Gregoire.

Through his thesis research, Gregoire’s identified three possible virus products that could successfully
kill Mycoplasma bacteria. These products have the potential to save approximately $1.2 million dollars
in a ten-year period.

Dr. Vincent Amanor-Boadu, Agribusiness Economics & Management Professor and Gregoire’s thesis
advisor, said “Whenever we solve an issue such as Mycoplasma more efficiently, it illustrates the
power of research. Zach’s study has immediate value for decision-makers in the animal health
industry in managing with regulatory exemption opportunities”.
K-State’s Master of Agribusiness (www.mab.ksu.edu) is an award-winning, distance-education degree
program that focuses on food, animal health and agribusiness management. Students and alumni
work in every sector of the food, animal health and agribusiness industry and are located in 40 states
within the United States and in more than 30 countries.

The full thesis publication can be found online on Kansas State University’s Research Exchange
at http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/38619.

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