Neogen honored by Forbes; two brokerage firms initiate coverage

LANSING, Mich., Oct. 15, 2008 — Forbes Magazine has named Neogen Corporation (Nasdaq: NEOG) to its annual list of the 200 Best Small Companies in America for the fourth consecutive year and seventh time in the last nine years.

“Conventional wisdom would have investors flee small-cap stocks when the economy takes a tumble. Big companies are safer bets, the thinking goes. Maybe not right now with meltdowns at AIG, Lehman Brothers, and Wachovia,” said Forbes’ editors in announcing the list. “With that in mind, we identified the strongest small public outfits in a very tough time for our list of the 200 Best Small Companies in America. We axed companies with fishy accounting or serious legal entanglements. Eighty-three of last year’s members didn’t make the cut this year.”

To qualify for the list, companies must have sales between $5 million and $750 million and a minimum stock price of $5 as of Sept. 29. The ranking is based on return on equity, sales growth and profit growth over the past 12 months and also over five years.

"We are pleased any time we receive independent recognition of Neogen’s outstanding performance, and especially when it comes from a source as trusted as Forbes,” said Lon Bohannon, Neogen’s president. “In our opinion, this list represents a valuable source of information for the investment community to help identify companies that are succeeding in a very difficult economic environment.”

Neogen’s success has also led to increased research coverage of the company. Joining Hilliard Lyons, Roth Capital Partners, and Stonegate Securities, are Stephens Inc. Investment Bankers and Craig-Hallum Capital Group. Stephens and Craig-Hallum have each recently initiated coverage of Neogen with a “buy” recommendation.

• Stephens Inc. (www.stephens.com) is a full service, privately owned investment bank headquartered in Little Rock, Ark., with offices in key U.S. markets and London.
• Craig-Hallum (www.craig-hallum.com) is a Minneapolis-based institutional research, trading and investment banking firm that specializes in small-to-mid cap public companies that represent investment opportunities for its institutional clients.

Neogen Corporation develops and markets products dedicated to food and animal safety. The company’s Food Safety Division markets dehydrated culture media, and diagnostic test kits to detect foodborne bacteria, natural toxins, genetic modifications, food allergens, drug residues, plant diseases and sanitation concerns. Neogen’s Animal Safety Division markets a complete line of diagnostics, veterinary instruments, veterinary pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, disinfectants, and rodenticides.