Eide Consulting Group
Entered the Technology Park: June 2007
Owners: Elmer and Judy Eide
Eide Consulting Group (ECG), lead by Elmer Eide, focuses on developing biological assays, or test procedures, that detect either antigen (viruses and bacteria) or antibodies (an animal’s serological or immunological responses to antigens whether from vaccination or natural exposure to a pathogenic microbe).some cases, ECG only develops the reagents used in an assay.example, the company prepares fluorescent antibody (FA) reagents for detecting and identifying viruses in cell cultures. Once the assays are developed, most clients ask ECG to use these assays to performin support of their research studies, experimentalor intermediate components of products.
One of the cases Eide and his team is most proud to have helped solve dealt with the development of a swine influenza virus vaccine. ECG worked shoulder-to-shoulder with its client, in the client’s laboratories.companyand purified many vaccine and challenge virus preparations, developed assays for identifying the various strains and assays for measuring potency of the in-process antigens and final product. Eide said the best part of the job was completing the project in a relatively short time span within a “high performing” team setting.resulting swine influenza virus vaccine products that resulted have been well accepted by the producers and successful in the market place.
Leader of Eide Consulting Group
Before Elmer Eide was an entrepreneur and a scientist, he was a farm boy growing up in South Dakota where his family raised sheep and grew and sold alfalfa. After graduating from high school, Eide attended South Dakota State University and earned bachelors and masters degrees in microbiology. The rigorous and broadly based curriculum taught Eide about a variety of topics including, dairy, pathogenic, soil, molecular and veterinary microbiology. The intensity of his education helped to prepare Eide for a career that would take him across the country and give him the experience he would use to establish ECG.
He first worked for the Food and Drug Administration in Washington, D.C., where he developed assays for detecting pathogenic E. coli. He then held a position at theDakota State Health Laboratory where he started the first human virus diagnostic laboratory in South Dakota. After that experience, he worked at Beecham Laboratories in White Hall, Ill. He then worked as aControl Manager at CEVA Laboratories in Lenexa, Kan. He then held another quality control management position with Smith Kline Beecham before he moved to Nebraska to work for Pfizerandan independent consultant.
In 2007, Eide added another title to his resume: entrepreneur. Almost a year ago in June, Eide started ECG at the Technology Park. Eide said he created the business because he needed to find a localized place to dowork instead of traveling to clients’ laboratory locations.ECG wasonly way to expand servicesstill retain “small” efficiencies.said he also wanted a little bit of autonomy to explore his field.
“I also wanted to start developing assays independently of our client’s needs and wishes, particularly for detecting novel antigens,” he said.
What’s Next
Within the next five years, ECGlike to expand to provide all of the requiredfor developing and licensing new vaccines, with emphasis on vaccines for disease agentsdiscovered. This would be a major laboratory expansion from ECG’s current small laboratory space, which is primarily related to assays for evaluating potency and efficacy.ECG grows according to plan, the company could thenservices that would fall under three major areas of testing: Purity, Potency/Efficacy and Safety of vaccines.
Eide’s ultimate goal for his business is to help develop vaccines to protect against poorly understood diseases.
“Despite many excellent vaccines on the market and excellent vaccination programs that are strictly followed by veterinarians and producers,continue to suffer from many undiagnosed diseases,” Eide said.“We need new, high quality, efficacious vaccines.”
For more information
For more information about Eide Consulting Group, contact Elmer Eide at ee02731@alltel.net or at 402-323-0706.