April 17, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by South Dakota Biotech.

In laboratories and processing plants, offices and warehouses, the bioscience industry is coming together in an unprecedented way to fight COVID-19.

In Sioux Falls, executive director Joni Johnson of South Dakota Biotech was looking for a way to recognize it.

“We figured people who are putting in extra hours always appreciate lunch when they can get it,” said Johnson, who leads the state affiliate of the international BIO organization.

“At the same time, our local restaurants are doing all they can to generate business during a time when they can’t bring customers into dining rooms. So we figured supporting them and delivering lunch to our hardworking members was a win-win.”

South Dakota Biotech has delivered lunch to SAB Biotherapeutics, where the team based at Sanford Research has been putting in long hours at the lab working on a therapeutic for COVID-19.

This week, Johnson sent lunch to POET, which recently teamed up with other area businesses to turn its Chancellor bioprocessing facility into a manufacturing plant for ethanol-based sanitizer.

“The innovation that is occurring in South Dakota from companies directly responding to COVID-19 in various ways has been incredible,” Johnson said.

“We’ve never seen so much collaboration and openness within our industry, and we’re so proud that South Dakota companies are doing so much to contribute.”

South Dakota Biotech has a comprehensive look at industry updates and resources on its website. To get connected, click here.