In 1985, Fleischmann's Yeast and then parent company Burns Philp acquired Dixie Yeast. Ten years later in June of 1995, Paul A. Willis joined the Specialty Yeast Division of Fleischmann's, through an acquisition, and retained Dr. Baugh as the fermentation expert.

Soon after Willis joined Fleischmann's, he formed a new company, Cypress Systems Inc., which acquired the MicroFeast Specialty Yeast Division of Fleischmann's in June of 1996. Willis re-located Cypress' corporate headquarters to Fresno, CA in July. Dr. Baugh was once again retained as the fermentation expert and has remained with Cypress since that time.

In 1983, the now deceased, Dr. Larry C. Clark, University of Arizona Cancer Center, selected the High Selenium Yeast that was co-developed by Dr. Baugh to be used as the intervention agent in his Nutritional Prevention of Cancer (NPC) Trial. The results were published in the December 1996 issue of the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA). Cypress continues to work with Dr. Baugh as the Director of Fermentation and utilizes his original protocol to produce its' High Selenium Yeast which is trademarked as SelenoExcell® High Selenium Yeast.

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Mission

1. Our primary mission is to advance the prevention of cancer through selenium supplementation and to address related health problems through an overall health stewardship program.
2. Maintain corporate and personal stewardship in three primary areas:
   A.) Nutrition/Health/Fitness, B.) Environmental Resources and C.) Outreach to Others.
3. To aggressively pursue business opportunities to establish the company as a premium manufacturer of specialty fermentation products and a provider of contract fermentation services.

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Cypress Management Team

Paul A. Willis - Founder, Chairman, CEO & President, Cypress Systems, Inc.

Mr. Willis has broad senior management experience in sales, marketing, and business development in multiple organizations. Following his initial employment with Ralston Purina, he joined Provesta Corporation, a biotechnology division of Phillips Petroleum Company. He later transferred to the company’s specialty chemical group, Agrisense, in Fresno, California and assisted in the sale of this division to Biosys in Palo Alto, California. Following the acquisition of Provesta’s specialty yeast group, Mr. Willis was employed by Fleischmann’s Yeast in 1995 to manage their MicroFeast Specialty Yeast Division. Mr. Willis holds a B.S. Degree in Agriculture Economics/ Marketing and Business from Oklahoma State University.

Mark Whitacre, Ph.D. - COO & President of Operations

Dr. Whitacre has nearly two decades of executive management experience in both Fortune 500 and entrepreneurial companies, including broad international experience. Much of his career has been in the area of biotechnology and microbial fermentation. Dr. Whitacre earned a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry from Cornell University where he studied under a world-renowned selenium scientist, Dr. G.F. Combs, Jr., and holds B.S. and Master's degrees from the Ohio State University. He also has two law degrees (J.D. and LL.M).

Lon C. Baugh, Ph.D. - Director of Fermentation

Dr. Baugh has operational and senior management experience in the development and manufacturing of fermentation based products for various companies, including Fleischmann’s, Miller Brewing Company, Phillips Petroleum Company, Lallemand International, and others. During his career, he has implemented patent-awarded and patent-pending processes, and has also served as a consultant for a wide range of fermentation projects in both domestic and international markets. Dr. Baugh holds a Ph.D. in Anatomy & Physiology from the University of Texas, an M.S. degree from Oklahoma University and a B.S. degree from Oklahoma Baptist University.

Production Expansion

To support specific contract fermentation opportunities, new product development and research and development, Cypress has initiated a project review to construct and equip its state-of-the-art EXCELL Pilot Fermentation Facility. This facility will utilize New Brunswick pure culture fermentation equipment, which steps up production capacity from bench top to 500 liter wet culture. As a fully automated in-line system, this equipment can be steam sterilized and is capable of complete replication needed for production scale-up. The EXCELL Facility will enable Cypress to produce a broad base of fermentation products while focusing on aspects of the molecular identification (speciation) of SelenoExcell® High Selenium Yeast. This work represents the initial phase of research to assist in the identification of mechanisms related to the health benefits of SelenoExcell® High Selenium Yeast.

When completed the EXCELL Facility will be dedicated to Dr. Henry Peppler and Dr. Lon C. Baugh in recognition of their pioneer efforts in the development of mineral fortified yeast products. As a result of their work in the early 1980's, the world has benefited from the increased bioavailability of organically bound minerals. Prior to development of this production process inorganic minerals were less bio-available with potential toxic side effects. This process of organically binding minerals has standardized, protein-based mineral supplements which replicate the natural occurring whole cell complex of proteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals found in natural food stuffs. We at Cypress thank Drs. Peppler and Baugh for their pioneering efforts and continued research support. Cypress is committed to continue this pioneering spirit in its quest to fulfill its purpose.

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Research

Currently, SelenoExcell® research efforts are underway with several prominent research groups. SelenoExcell® has been selected as the intervention agent in a series of health and cancer prevention studies. The series of studies are funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institute of Health (NIH), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Defense (DOD) and numerous private-funding organizations.

At this time we are unable to discuss the details of the research projects, because they are double-blinded, randomized trials. Discussing the details of the clinical trials could potentially jeopardize the integrity and results of the trials.

Cypress has also signed a Clinical Trial Agreement (CTA) with the National Cancer Institute's Division on Cancer Prevention (DCP). The agreement is to promote the use of SelenoExcell® High Selenium Yeast in clinical trials that my lead to a New Drug Application (NDA) and a Biological License Application (BLA). The NDA and BLA are vehicles by which natural products like SelenoExcell® are made widely available to cancer patients and the general public as cancer prevention and control therapies.

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