Hello gents, ran across SAB Biotherapeutics (SABS) on twitter and did a little research over the last week or two.
$SABS despac’d in late October and currently sits at a 450 million mkt cap. They are in phase 3 for their covid polyclonal antibody produced from genetically modified cows; a study fast tracked by the US gov.
Technology
SABS manipulates cow embryos to give birth to cows capable of producing human antibodies. The cows are then “vaccinated” with desired virus and produce human polyclonal antibodies in their blood. The blood is then harvested and refined down into a polyclonal antibody mix that can be infused into patients fighting off covid. Throughout the pandemic polyclonal antibodies have been available ONLY from human plasma donors where potency of antibody fades overtime and supply is limited. Given the size of cows, human polyclonal antibodies in cows represent an opportunity to finally mass produce HUMAN polyclonal antibodies.
Polyclonal vs Monoclonal Antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies target one ending of the virus where polyclonal antibodies target multiple endings. Polyclonal antibodies are a natural immune response where the body produces several different forms of an antibody to attack a virus. The current monoclonal antibody mix for covid only targets one ending of the coronavirus which is problematic for variants (Eli Lilly had issues with delta variant and their monoclonal antibodies). Monoclonal antibodies are also expensive to make as the Regeneron lab produced antibodies are $2,100 per dose whereas SABS polyclonal mix is ~ under $100 a dose.
Market Cap
The company trades at a 450 million mkt cap with ~ 70% redemption off spac giving it a low float of ~3 million shares, On Friday 11/26 omicron variant news sent the stock up ~20% with only 700k volume for the day. Given the effectiveness of polyclonal antibodies and the platforms applicability to other viruses I see this thing trading above 2-3 billion IF the covid polyclonal antibody goes through. Let me know what you guys think.
Competition
Other companies like regeneron have produced HUMAN polyclonal antibodies in animals such as mice and rabbits but according to SABS CEO Eddie Sullivan SABS is the only company in the world that can produce human polyclonal antibodies in a large animal such as a cow. Eddie offers an explanation to this.
Cows are only ~85% similar to the human genome where as smaller mammals such as mice + rabbits are closer to ~98% similar making genetic modification easier. SABS CEO argues this is why the are way ahead of the competition as no one else has the technology to genetically modify a larger mammal that is capable of mass producing human antibodies.
Catalysts
They will announce phase 2 data for their influenza polyclonal mix in Q4 2023 and the release of their phase 3 trial for covid could be any day now. (first patient dosed on October 4th with 30 days of intensive follow up)
SABS looks to get emergency approval for their covid antibody mix.
Government has bought over ~3 billion in monoclonal antibody mix from Regeneron, Eli Lilly and Vir biotech. On approval I think gov purchases would be likely as polyclonal antibodies have higher effectiveness, are cheaper to produce and effective against variants.
Baird + others analyst coverage average PT of ~$19 a share (11/26 trades at $10 NAV)
We all know how much the MSM loves covering covid + covid treatments, $SABS could easily be the new buzz and become well recognized
Signs of Approval
Has received over $200 million in gov cash for covid trial ( Almost half of their mkt cap)
Received additional $65 million of gov funding after covid phase 2 trial showed efficacy + safety
Dosage showed very strong potency
“The joint decision with NIAID to evaluate the lower dose of SAB-185 in the Phase 3 trial is a testament to the potency of our human polyclonal antibody therapeutic candidate, which has demonstrated neutralization of multiple emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in recently published nonclinical studies.”
This article was written by u/wannabehedgefun.
