Hematech Inc., a subsidiary of Kyowa Hakko Kirin

SAB Biotherapeutics Receives $3 Million Equity Investment Released: 6-Jan-2015 5:00 PM ESTSource Newsroom: Sanford Health Newswise — SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - SAB Biotherapeutics Inc., a Sanford Research collaborator, has announced the Sioux Falls Development Foundation will provide a $3 million equity investment in the organization to help grow its unique disease-fighting platform. SAB Biotherapeutics Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company located within the Sanford Research Center that has developed a unique technology platform to produce clinical-grade, fully human polyclonal antibodies to treat human diseases. "We are pleased with the continued evolution of SAB Biotherapeutics and maturation of its technology, which will be further accelerated through this exciting investment," said Rich Adcock, executive vice president for Sanford Health, a part owner of SAB Biotherapeutics Inc. "As a close research collaborator, we are celebrating this important milestone alongside of the SAB team." The Development Foundation's investment was facilitated by a State of South Dakota Future Fund grant, which is intended to support and encourage growth of the state's biotechnology sector. "This investment gives us the opportunity to pursue an aggressive five-year growth plan that can significantly alter our position in the marketplace," said SAB Biotherapeutics Inc. President and CEO Eddie Sullivan, Ph.D. "The growth of our company also means job growth, subsidiary economic advantages and tax revenue for the Sioux Falls area and South Dakota." Sanford Health's investment in SAB Biotherapeutics Inc. started in December of 2012 when it acquired Hematech Inc., a subsidiary of Japanese pharmaceutical company Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. Ltd. Through Sanford's continued support and development of its technology last year, SAB Biotherapeutics Inc. became its own entity to accelerate its research-to-market strategy by bringing on additional investors. SAB Biotherapeutics Inc. has developed the world's first large-animal platform technology to produce fully human antibodies, both monoclonal and polyclonal, using the latest advances in gene engineering and transfer to produce new biopharmaceuticals that help fight disease. The antibodies generated in this unique system have been shown to have high diversity and high affinity compared to other genetically engineered animal systems.

About Sanford Research Sanford Research is a non-profit research organization and is part of Sanford Health, an integrated health system headquartered in the Dakotas. Sanford represents the largest, rural, not-for-profit health care system in the nation with a presence in 111 communities, nine states and two countries. In 2007, a transformational gift of $400 million by Denny Sanford provided for an expansion of children's and research initiatives, one of which was to find a cure for type 1 diabetes, and has given Sanford Research significant momentum in its goal of becoming one of the premiere research institutions in the United States and the world. Most recently, subsequent gifts of more than $200 million by Mr. Sanford have paved the way to establish Edith Sanford Breast Cancer Research and Sanford Imagenetics.With a team of more than 200 researchers, Sanford Research comprises several research centers, including Children's Health Research, Edith Sanford Breast Cancer, Cancer Biology, Center for Health Outcomes and Prevention and Sanford Sports Science Institute.