South Dakota Biotech leader Eddie Sullivan has been named to the executive committee of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, or BIO, the industry’s largest trade association.

Sullivan, president and CEO of SAB Biotherapeutics (SAB), was named the chair of the organization's food and agriculture section governing board. He has been a member of that board since 2004.

"As we address the numerous challenges of feeding a growing world, it’s by the industry coming together through a broad and the prestigious organization BIO that we're able to leverage biotechnology to benefit society—in particular the lower and middle income countries,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan is the founder and former board chair of South Dakota Biotech, the state’s affiliate of BIO, now in its 10^th year.

“Eddie is a valuable asset to South Dakota and has been a visionary for our industry,” said Joni Johnson, South Dakota Biotech executive director. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to have him assume this important leadership role within the BIO organization.”

Sullivan is now part of an 18-person executive committee for the BIO board. As chair of the food and agriculture section, he helps oversee the creation and advancement of policies and issues related to international affairs, government relations, science and regulatory affairs, and media and public affairs. He was appointed at the recent international BIO conference in San Francisco.

“We welcome our new officers, board leaders, and board members, and are looking forward to working with them to create a more favorable policy, legislative, and business development environment for the global biotech industry,” said Jim Greenwood, BIO president and CEO. “This newly-constituted board of directors brings significant industry experience and passion that will serve BIO and its members well.”

“We are pleased to announce Eddie Sullivan, president and CEO of SAB Biotherapeutics, as the new chair of the Food and Agriculture Section Governing Board. Throughout his tenure as a valued BIO member and during his previous two-year term as vice chair, we have relied on Dr. Sullivan’s expertise in science, policy and business development,” said Brian Baenig, executive vice president for Food and Agriculture at BIO. “We look forward to working more closely with him on the challenges facing not just ag biotech, but the global biotechnology industry as a whole.”

As a seasoned biotechnology executive, Sullivan has more than 15 years of leadership experience with genetic and molecular diagnostics for animal health. He has also co-founded multiple biotech development companies. His current company, SAB Biotherapeutics, is a biopharmaceutical company developing polyclonal antibody therapies to treat infectious diseases, cancer and autoimmune disorders.

“Although SAB is developing human therapeutics, they are produced in agriculture-related species,” Sullivan said. “Therefore, we work very closely with the USDA, FDA and other regulatory organizations that are covered by the Food and Ag section of BIO.”