Contact:

For South Dakota:

 Mary Lehecka Nelson 

Governor’s Office of Economic 

Development (605) 773-5032

Governor Announced Research Laboratory in South Dakota

Sioux Falls, SD, and Westport, CT, - Building upon the increasing biotech presence in the Midwest, South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow and Hematech, LLC, a privately-held company pioneering the production of human antibodies in cattle, today announced that the company will relocate its Kansas-based research laboratory and animal facilities to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The Sioux Falls lab will be part of Hematech’s national network of facilities developing novel production systems that will produce human antibodies to fight a wide variety of diseases including immune system disorders, cancer and AIDS. The lab will occupy space in the Tech III office facility south of the Empire Mall in Sioux Falls, and will initially employ 20 scientists and biotech technicians. Hematech expects that the Sioux Falls site will be ready for occupancy early in 2002.

"Hematech is one of the nation’s biotechnology leaders," Janklow said. "This is a company with fabulous potential for helping to solve many of the medical problems of human beings and embarking on a new era of economic development for South Dakota."

"In our search for a new research facility, we evaluated regions from the Twin Cities to Omaha and found Sioux Falls to be the most desirable place for the expansion of our research operations. South Dakota is recognized as one of the nation’s leading agricultural areas. Hematech plans to build upon the state’s expertise in animal breeding and care to accelerate the development of our animal production systems,"commented James M. Barton, CEO and a Director of Hematech. "In addition, we will have access to the state’s world class universities and healthcare facilities. The city and state have an attractive business climate and a pool of highly-skilled scientific and biotech employees which will help us realize our full economic and scientific potential."

In addition to the Sioux Falls lab, Hematech has cell and molecular biology laboratories in Worcester, Massachusetts and corporate offices in Westport, Connecticut. The Company works extensively with Trans Ova Genetics at its Genetic Advancement Center in Sioux Center, Iowa. The proximity of Sioux Falls to the Trans Ova facility was another consideration in Hematech’s decision to relocate the laboratory to South Dakota.

About Hematech

Hematech is a pioneer in the development and production of antibodies for therapeutic uses. Hematech’s patented bovine transgenic technologies enable the Company to rapidly produce unlimited quantities of uniform, high affinity, fully human antibodies for a wide variety of disease targets. The Company’s primary focus is on the production of targeted polyclonal antibodies used in the treatment of immune deficiencies and a wide variety of other diseases. Hematech is building a diversified portfolio of antibody products that the Company will commercialize itself or through licensing arrangements with multiple pharmaceutical partners. For more information on Hematech, visit the company’s Web site at www.hematech.com.

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