December 28, 2018 Central Standard Time
Sioux Falls, S.D.,– South Dakota Equity Partners (SDEP) today announced it has invested $1.05 million in SAB Biotherapeutics (SAB), a biopharmaceutical development company. The SAB investment is part of the company’s Series A-2 raise marking the first investment made by the new private equity fund focused on South Dakota growth-stage companies. The investment will boost SAB’s aggressive growth plans and capacity building to accelerate the advancement of the company’s novel immunotherapy platform.
“SAB Biotherapeutics is an outstanding first investment for SDEP,” said Blaine Crissman, President of South Dakota Equity. “SAB has achieved key milestones, proven a novel technology and production system, developed a robust product pipeline, assembled a strong team and outlined an aggressive plan and timeline for growth.”
Since its founding in 2014, SAB Biotherapeutics has developed immunotherapies against more than a dozen targets, has achieved 100% efficacy in pre-clinical testing and completed Phase 1 trials for treatments for emerging infectious diseases, including MERS-CoV and antibiotic resistant bacteria, in a first-in-human trial.
“This investment is significant for our company on multiple fronts,” said Dr. Eddie J. Sullivan, President & CEO of SAB Biotherapeutics. “The capital certainly contributes to our capacity building initiatives; however, we also value the confidence of these experienced investment professionals and the ability to leverage their expertise and contacts as we continue to execute on our growth targets and capital strategy.”
SDEP is comprised of seasoned institutional investors including progressive banks, leading-edge corporations, university foundations, economic development corporations, family offices and individuals. SDEP was created as the result of an initiative started in 2015 by the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development, at Governor Dennis Daugaard’s request, to fill a funding gap in equity capital for early and growth-stage companies in South Dakota. SEDP held its initial closing in June of 2018. SDEP has raised $21 million in committed capital with a goal of $30 million in total.
“South Dakota Equity Partners will invest in companies with significant growth opportunities and we’ll work with our portfolio companies to build them into industry leaders here in South Dakota,” Crissman said.
The fund is targeting knowledge-based and technology-enabled businesses with exceptional management teams.
“SAB fits our investment strategy of balancing company and industry risk with commensurate potential returns to our investors. This investment also represents the type of economic development and societal impact that are central to our vision for South Dakota Equity Partners,” added Crissman.
SAB is focused on building capacity, has integrated and expanded operations with its new production pharm near Canton, more than doubled its staff, and late last month broke ground on their new company headquarters and commercial-scale cGMP manufacturing facility to anchor the new USD Discovery District innovation community.
“Our goal is to grow SAB Biotherapeutics into a global leader in the development and production of targeted human immunotherapies and catalyze a vibrant biotech industry in South Dakota, while making a positive impact on human health,” added Sullivan.
SAB’s unique immunotherapy platform is the only in the world to produce human polyclonal antibodies—the natural way to fight disease—on a commercial scale without using humans. Near-term immunotherapies target cancer, influenza and Type 1 diabetes.
“We have strong interest from other companies seeking patient growth capital and value-added investors and are building a strong pipeline,” Crissman said.
Market sectors of interest to SDEP include biotech, agriculture and financial technology, software and rapid-growing niche manufacturers. SDEP will also invest equity in earlier-stage to more established middle market companies with a goal to diversify its portfolio across industries and investment stages.
“We’re talking with more than 10 businesses about potential investment and will continue to travel throughout the state meeting with attorneys, accountants, bankers and economic development teams to educate the market on our investment strategy,” added Crissman. “We’re focused on building the fund and building the brand.”
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About South Dakota Equity Partners, LP
South Dakota Equity Partners (SDEP) is a private equity fund focused on investing in growth-stage companies located in or expanding to South Dakota. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, SDEP is comprised of experienced institutional investors including progressive banks, economic development corporations, university foundations, leading corporations, family offices and individuals that provide both strategic counsel and financial input to the management teams of its portfolio companies. SDEP is the largest equity fund in South Dakota with more than $21 million in committed capital with a total goal of $30 million.
Contact:
Blaine Crissman, Managing Partner
bcrissman@southdakotaequity.com
605.553.6032
About SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc.
SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc. (SAB) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing human immunotherapies to transform the treatment and prevention of diseases from cancer and inflammation to autoimmune and infectious diseases like influenza. SAB is delivering the world’s first natural large-scale production platform to create fully human immunoglobulins outside of humans. The DiversitAb™ platform is diverse in its ability to produce antibodies for a variety of health conditions. The platform is also scalable and dynamic, enabling the production of large quantities of therapeutics with a shorter development cycle than current methods. For more information, visit sab.bio
Contact: Melissa Ullerich, SVP Corporate Communications; mullerich@sab.bio; 605.695.8350
http://www.siouxfallsdevelopment.com/viewNewsStory.cfm?newsID=1062
