BOSTON, April 11,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Ginkgo Bioworks
(NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell
programming and biosecurity, announced the acquisition of AgBiome's
platform assets, including over 115,000 fully sequenced and
isolated strains, over 500 million unique gene sequences, and
relevant functional data and metadata, as well as AgBiome's
development pipeline. These assets will be integrated into Ginkgo
Ag Biologicals Services, established with the acquisition of a
Bayer agricultural biologicals R&D facility in 2022, and will
expand Ginkgo's proprietary unified metagenomics database.
Combined, this creates one of the deepest and most advanced ag
biological discovery and development platforms as well as a rich
resource for the development of AI models for biological
R&D.
Since its founding in 2012, AgBiome has worked to generate an
extensive collection of biological products and technologies - from
agricultural products, to bioactive ingredients, to gene editing
tools - through its Genesis Discovery Platform. AgBiome has
successfully commercialized multiple biological products, including
the Howler and Theia product lines, which are not included in the
acquisition. AgBiome has developed a massive microbial strain
library from over 8,000 geographically diverse environmental
samples. These isolates have been fully sequenced, producing a rich
library with over 500 million unique gene sequences. Also included
in the acquisition is a robust product concept pipeline including a
dozen product candidates with greenhouse or field validation -
these validated assets create a rich foundation for future
partnered programs, as well as a diverse resource of metagenomic
data for genomic mining and AI model training.
Michael Miille, Ginkgo
Fellow: "We are so excited to bring AgBiome's incredible
strain and metagenomic collection into Ginkgo. This is a world
class asset that will significantly expand our capabilities and can
directly benefit Ginkgo's customers in the ag biologicals space. In
addition to the platform assets and capabilities, the product
concepts pipeline that has been validated by AgBiome to date
provides an exciting opportunity to give customers a head-start in
their product development efforts."
Laura Potter, AgBiome CSO:
"These assets represent a massive, ground-breaking investment into
exploring and characterizing microbial diversity for human benefit,
and we can't think of a better home for them than the Ginkgo
platform."
Leverage Ginkgo's R&D services and validated assets to get a
headstart in ag biologicals. Visit our website at
https://www.ginkgobioworks.com/offerings/ag-biologicals-discovery-development.
About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks is the leading horizontal platform for cell
programming, providing flexible, end-to-end services that solve
challenges for organizations across diverse markets, from food and
agriculture to pharmaceuticals to industrial and specialty
chemicals. Ginkgo Biosecurity is building and deploying the
next-generation infrastructure and technologies that global leaders
need to predict, detect, and respond to a wide variety of
biological threats. For more information, visit
ginkgobioworks.com and ginkgobiosecurity.com, read our blog,
or follow us on social media channels such as X (@Ginkgo and
@Ginkgo_Biosec), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks), Threads
(@GinkgoBioworks), or LinkedIn.
Ginkgo Bioworks Investor
Contact:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com
Ginkgo Bioworks Media
Contact:
press@ginkgobioworks.com
Forward-Looking Statements of Ginkgo Bioworks
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including
statements regarding the capabilities and potential success of the
acquisition and Ginkgo's cell programming platform. These
forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words
"believe," "can," "project," "potential," "expect," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan,"
"may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will
likely result," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements
are predictions, projections and other statements about future
events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and,
as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors
could cause actual future events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not
limited to: (i) volatility in the price of Ginkgo's securities due
to a variety of factors, including changes in the competitive and
highly regulated industries in which Ginkgo operates and plans to
operate, variations in performance across competitors, and changes
in laws and regulations affecting Ginkgo's business, (ii) the
ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other
expectations, and to identify and realize additional business
opportunities, (iii) the risk of downturns in demand for products
using synthetic biology, (iv) the uncertainty regarding the demand
for passive monitoring programs and biosecurity services, (v)
changes to the biosecurity industry, including due to advancements
in technology, emerging competition and evolution in industry
demands, standards and regulations, (vi) the outcome of any pending
or potential legal proceedings against Ginkgo, (vii) our ability to
realize the expected benefits from and the success of our Foundry
platform programs, (viii) our ability to successfully develop
engineered cells, bioprocesses, data packages or other
deliverables, and (ix) the product development or commercialization
success of our customers. The foregoing list of factors is not
exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and
the other risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors"
section of Ginkgo's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 29, 2024 and other documents filed by
Ginkgo from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and
address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual events and results to differ materially from those contained
in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put
undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Ginkgo assumes no
obligation and does not intend to update or revise these
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise. Ginkgo does not give any assurance
that it will achieve its expectations.
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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks
