BioGaia is one of the three most successful innovations originating from the research carried out over SLU's 40 years of existence. Prior to the founding of BioGaia in 1990, there was intensive research into the lactic-acid bacterium Lactobacillus reuteri during the 80s, including at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala. Sven Lindgren, the PhD student Lars Axelsson and Walter Dobrogosz worked there, investigating how Lactobacillus reuteri could inhibit pathogenic microorganisms such as E. coli and Salmonella. The company BioGaia, which is based on their research, currently has an annual turnover in excess of SEK 500m.