S.D. Biotech enters milestone year with member growth, industry momentum

South Dakota Biotech marks two decades of innovation meeting economic development in 2026 – with plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the industry’s future.

“The biotech industry is resilient,” said Joni Ekstrum, executive director of South Dakota Biotech, state affiliate of industry organization BIO.

“We’re seeing companies continue to move forward and organizations continue to invest in research, and it’s our goal to help position South Dakota as a location of choice and to help foster the best environment for businesses already located here.”

South Dakota Biotech will mark its 20th anniversary serving the state this year.

“A lot has changed in that time,” Ekstrum said. “Twenty years ago, biotech was in its earliest stages in our state. It’s still a relatively new industry, but it’s maturing. And by making strategic public-private investments, there’s a lot of opportunity to grow our bioeconomy in the years ahead.”

We caught up with Ekstrum to look back and ahead at the industry’s positive trajectory in the state.

2025 brought uncertainty for a number of industries, including biotechnology. How do you feel the industry adapted or repositioned itself?
There were a lot of variables: uncertainty around spending, especially on research; policy related to health and science; tariffs and immigration. All of those factors can influence private investment in the biosciences and our workforce pipeline. From our perspective, we were happy that none of this was reflected in our membership. We grew our membership, and our projections are strong for 2026. We also had an enthusiastic response to many of our programs and events. Biotech development generally is a slow process, but we were pleased that our South Dakota companies continued to make progress and see value both in locating in our state and in being members of South Dakota Biotech.

We continually hold conversations with our members – at least 100 formal meetings last year – and our focus is on how we can support talent, commercialization and collaboration needs. We’re here to serve as the central connector among industry, universities and emerging companies, facilitating introductions, supporting grant applications, assisting with workforce navigation and accelerating regional partnerships. These engagements significantly contributed to member retention, startup conversion and a growing pipeline of innovation activity in the state.

You kicked off 2025 with an updated strategic plan. How is that providing you a road map into the next 20 years?
It’s a comprehensive plan with input from a range of stakeholders. It set our vision to be an essential leader and trusted voice in growing South Dakota’s bioeconomy as a catalyst, influencer and connector. We set some strategic goals around expanding our breadth and depth as an organization, supporting the objectives of South Dakota’s Science & Technology Plan and continually building trust through ongoing communication. We were pleased to learn through this process that our members are largely satisfied with and value the services South Dakota Biotech provides and are aligned with our vision for the association.

Funding is continually a need to advance the biotech industry. What kind of success did you see with that in 2025?
We were again awarded the SBA FAST grant — Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program — through September 2029. This is a $1 million grant over five years. The goal is to increase the pipeline of SBIR/STTR applications through training and outreach, to support entrepreneurs and startups through consulting and mentoring that ultimately leads to the commercialization of technology developed through SBIR/STTR program funding and to provide grants through a competitive process for customer discovery and business plan implementation activities. Overall funding was reduced, so that limits the number of awards we can fund.

We also continue to see strong interest and activity from outside funding organizations looking for ways to provide equity to early-stage companies and those scaling up. In our 20-year history, outside investment has historically been a struggle, so it’s exciting to see more opportunities beginning to open up.

The South Dakota Biotech Annual Summit has become a regional draw and a way for the industry to connect and learn. How has it continued to evolve?
We launched a two-day event in 2025, and the new format was a hit. Attendees deeply valued the summit’s collaborative format, especially the round tables and informal networking. We had more than 200 attendees, and 30 percent traveled more than 100 miles to attend. Thirty percent of attendees also were not South Dakota Biotech members, which represents a good chance to grow our organization. We saw a strong presence from industry, academia, related services and community partners. Plus, the majority were new attendees, so we were excited to expand our reach.

What has South Dakota Biotech focused on from an advocacy standpoint?
We were active alongside several BIO state affiliates to actively support SBIR/STTR reauthorization. I helped communicate the need for that funding in a piece published across the state, and our headline was also featured at a BIO Council of State Affiliates annual retreat and on the U.S. Senate floor.

At a state level, we’ve been focused on the Future Fund as the programs supported can be critical to biotech economic development, as well as on legislation that creates a pro-science environment in South Dakota. That’s crucial to encouraging this industry and its top talent to locate here.

What are your expectations looking into 2026?
I’m excited by the momentum we’re seeing at Dakota BioWorx, which has been scaling up its work at the Research Park at South Dakota State University. This facility is offering much-needed infrastructure for companies looking to innovate, and I see a big year ahead here.

I’m also optimistic about the momentum we’re seeing at the USD Discovery District in Sioux Falls, including the first biotech tenant moving in last year and some deals in process that would generate more biotech activity this year.

On the west side of the state, we were enthusiastic about the response to a networking event we held in 2025 and hope to make that an annual occurrence. I’m excited by the leadership at South Dakota Mines and the incredible pipeline of research and startup activity we see there. Sanford Health also brings a systemwide commitment to research as it expands to the west side of the state.

And finally, it’s been so rewarding to grow our relationship with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Commissioner Bill Even clearly sees the value in pursuing opportunities in the biotech industry, and his team has been amazing. This office understands how to put state resources toward things that will be innovative and grow the state’s economy, encouraging forward-thinking companies to locate and expand here.

Get connected
South Dakota Biotech’s 20-year anniversary promises to be an exciting one and the best time to connect with this growing industry.