"I want to give farmers a break from high-priced biological products, most of which are imported and are not suited to local farm conditions. I can give them the products at the volumes and prices they can readily afford," he said.
Rivera’s Riverdale Biological Laboratories, Inc., for example, manufactures an animal vaccine called Hemo-bac, which immunizes carabaos and goats against hemorrhagic septicemia bacteria or shipping fever.
Because it is the only vaccine against shipping fever that is produced locally, Hemo-bac is priced ten times cheaper than its competitors and is twice as potent. Hemo-bac’s immunization period is good for one year instead of the six months offered by imported vaccines.
"The Philippines is the first country in Southeast Asia to provide instant and full protection against this dreaded livestock disease," said Rivera.
Last year, Riverdale was given the "New Millenium Award for Technology and Quality" by the European Editorial Office and Trade Leaders Club in Geneva, Switzerland. The company was also cited by the Department of Science and Technology for its swine fever vaccine and Newcastle disease vaccine (which affects chickens and quails).
"I grabbed every chance to know more about what constituted different biologicals such as antibiotics and viral drugs," said Rivera, who quit his high-paying job to go on his own. "I’d spent the nights preparing veterinary feed mixes and compounding medicines until dawn. By sunrise, I would rush to Lipa, Batangas to sell the medicines. By evening, I’d be back home, mixing the medicines to sell the next day."
Rivera started with a capital of P40,000 and a workforce of one – himself. Soon, business picked up sufficiently so he could afford to hire a salesman who covered Laguna and Quezon.
Today, Rivera’s base is the 48-hectare Tryco Pharma Corp. complex in San Rafael, Bulacan. Within the complex, which he owns, are laboratories which produce animal vaccines, sera and micro biotech products.
A corporate building in Caloocan City doubles up as Rivera’s main marketing center.
Tryco-Riverdale has biotechnological links in Australia, England, Germany, Taiwan, Belgium and Switzerland. Just recently, the two Rivera companies jointly signed an agreement with one of Switzerland’s biggest and oldest livestock vaccine manufacturers that would foster a solid marketing approach of vaccines throughout Asia.
Although he has come a long way from his humble beginnings, Rivera continues to stay in touch with his roots through the vaccines he makes and sells.