Nov. 24, 2021

Sioux Falls-based SAB Biotherapeutics has released its first earnings report since becoming a publicly traded company.

The biopharmaceutical company had a net loss of $5.6 million for the nine months ending Sept. 30, compared with net income of $11.7 million for the same time one year ago.

Research and development also created significantly more expense at $46.5 million for the first nine months of this year, compared with $12.6 million one year prior. That’s primarily because of the advancement of SAB-185, the company’s therapeutic for COVID-19.

SAB-185 is being evaluated in the ongoing Phase 3 ACTIV-2 trial in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health for the treatment of nonhospitalized patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

In September, the company announced that an independent data safety monitoring board recommended advancement to Phase 3 following a pre-specified interim analysis data review of the safety and efficacy of SAB-185 in the Phase 2 portion of the ACTIV-2 trial. The first patient was dosed as part of Phase 3 in October.

SAB has announced four federal funding awards totaling more than $203 million since March  2020.

The company also is moving forward with SAB-176, a quadrivalent polyclonal antibody therapeutic candidate being evaluated in an ongoing Phase 2a challenge study for the treatment of seasonal influenza.​

General and administrative growth drove $9.3 million in expenses for the first nine months of the year, compared with $4.9 million in the prior year because of services in support of company growth.

“Our pipeline of potent and scalable human polyclonal antibodies leveraging our novel DiversitAb platform continues to advance, and our clinical programs for SAB-185 and SAB-176 show strong therapeutic potential as they progress through clinical trials,” co-founder, president and CEO Eddie Sullivan said in a statement.

“We have built a strong team with exceptional experience and knowledge, enabling us to drive forward the development of highly efficacious human polyclonal therapies with the potential to address the emergence, mutation and diversity of modern health challenges.”

SAB’s earnings report also disclosed another human polyclonal antibody therapeutic candidate — this one for type 1 diabetes and organ transplantation induction/rejection. SAB-142 is in preclinical development with studies beginning early next year to move toward clinical trials.

SAB had $10.8 million in cash and cash equivalents at the end of September and added $30 million on a pro forma basis in its combination with Big Cypress Acquisition Corp. on Oct. 22.