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HomePosts Tagged "Ginkgo Bioworks"
Agbiologicals, Agribusiness, Company News, World

Partnership could help Agrivalle enhance the breadth and efficacy of their novel biological products and enable them to sell and license products to major players in agriculture across the globe.

Agrivalle, a leading Brazilian agricultural biologicals company, announced a new partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks, which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity. Together, the companies will collaborate on building cutting edge technologies to advance Agrivalle’s biological products, including next-gen fertilizers and biocontrol agents.

Ginkgo is bringing its suite of advanced biology tools to the partnership with Agrivalle. Ginkgo will leverage its Strain Optimization Services to improve the efficacy of Agrivalle’s biocontrol products. In planned future projects, Ginkgo intends to work with Agrivalle to discover and optimize plant-compatible microbes that can provide crop nutrition, and to engineer organisms that can make compounds to specifically target certain pests. This, in turn, could help Agrivalle enhance the breadth and efficacy of their novel biological products and enable them to sell and license products to major players in agriculture across the globe.

Growers continue to have an increased need for effective and sustainable alternatives to pest control products. Brazil has been home to massive growth in biologicals, thanks in part to regulatory frameworks that encourage innovation in the development of biologicals for sustainable agriculture. The Brazilian government has also made it easier for startups to finance manufacturing plants and to register biological products. This has led the country to become the largest biologicals market for agriculture, growing over 30 per cent a year.

“We are so excited to partner with Agrivalle on getting groundbreaking biological products into the hands of growers,” said Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks. “Agrivalle is a vanguard of innovation in Brazil with proven R&D, manufacturing, and sales prowess, and we’re thrilled to help them optimize and advance their products as they seek to expand globally.”

“Choosing Ginkgo as a strategic partner will enable Agrivalle products to be at the forefront of agricultural excellence,” said André Kraide, CEO of Agrivalle. “Having access to Ginkgo’s demonstrated technical capabilities and expertise in biologicals R&D will help us take our products to the next level and support growers who seek superior bio-based technology.”

Partnership could help Agrivalle enhance the breadth

Animal Health, India, R&D

This partnership aims to replace traditional chemical processes in veterinary active ingredient production with a sustainable biological method

Ginkgo Bioworks, which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, and Zenfold Sustainable Technologies, a company focused on developing and manufacturing speciality ingredients using sustainable technologies and precision fermentation, announced a collaboration to leverage Ginkgo Enzyme Services in its effort to discover an enzyme critical to the manufacturing of veterinary products. This partnership aims to replace traditional chemical processes in veterinary active ingredient production with a sustainable biological method.

“This collaboration marks a significant step forward in Zenfold’s mission to bring sustainable manufacturing technology to the veterinary medicine industry,” said Dr. BSV Prasad, CEO and Managing Director of Zenfold Sustainable Technologies. “By utilising Ginkgo’s expertise and innovation, we are well-positioned to develop a sustainable solution that will have a lasting impact on the Indian market and beyond.”

“We are excited to partner with Zenfold, which brings a powerful vision of sustainable biotechnology to veterinary active ingredient development. This collaboration will enable us to apply our state-of-the-art enzyme discovery module to enable more innovation in the veterinary medicine space,” said Jennifer Wipf, SVP, Head of Commercial, Cell Engineering at Ginkgo. “The project involves creating a broad library of cDNA candidates from a metagenomic collection of billions of enzyme sequences. That’s the kind of scale visionary projects like this need, and Ginkgo is committed to scaling up this solution for the betterment of animal health and the environment.”

This partnership aims to replace traditional chemical

Agrotech, Biostimulants, Company News, R&D, World

Through this partnership, Exacta will use Ginkgo’s fermentation and formulation optimisation services to reduce the cost of goods to make its FitoRoot technology more competitive

Exacta Bioscience, a biotech company and Ginkgo Bioworks, which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity announced that Exacta is leveraging Ginkgo’s end-to-end agricultural R&D services to run a fermentation optimisation and scale-up program to enhance one of its crop protection products, FitoRoot, paving the way for large-scale commercialisation.

FitoRoot, a biostimulant product composed of three Bacillus strains, is designed to help crops better absorb water and nutrients and strengthen their defences against abiotic stress. This can lead to overall better crop health, improved yield and increased resistance to stress conditions such as drought or extreme temperatures. Through this partnership, Exacta will use Ginkgo’s fermentation and formulation optimisation services to reduce the cost of goods to make its FitoRoot technology more competitive. Accordingly, FitoRoot is currently marketed in Chile and is expected to expand to other Latin American markets, with a planned launch in 2023 by Adama Chile, which is driving biological adoption in the region. Adama Ltd. is one of the world’s leading crop protection companies.

“We chose Ginkgo because their deep expertise in agricultural product development and optimisation positions us to make one of our key crop protection products, FitoRoot, more accessible,” said José Bustos, CEO at Exacta Bioscience. “We’re proud of the progress Exacta has made, and this partnership marks a vital step toward accelerating our efforts to assure the quality and availability of one of our products and creating a stable and safer ecosystem.”

“Exacta Bioscience’s emphasis on microbial solutions in crop health brings more sustainable and differentiated solutions to farmers throughout the Americas,” said Magalie Guilhabert, Head of Ag Biologicals, Ginkgo Bioworks. “Together, we can continue to push the boundaries of agricultural innovation through biotechnological solutions that promote a more sustainable future for our food systems.”

Through this partnership, Exacta will use Ginkgo's fermentation

Agrotech, Company News, R&D, Sustainability, World

leveraging Ginkgo’s ultra-high throughput encapsulated screening capabilities, AgBiome aims to unlock the even higher performance of its microbial strain pipeline

AgBiome and Ginkgo Bioworks, announced a partnership to optimise the performance of products in AgBiome’s pipeline of agricultural biologicals. Organisations developing next-generation agricultural inputs can access Ginkgo’s platform to accelerate the discovery and deployment of new products. By leveraging Ginkgo’s ultra-high throughput encapsulated screening capabilities, AgBiome aims to provide growers with new and improved live microbial strain products.

The biological crop protection market has significantly grown in recent years as growers have increasingly sought effective and sustainable alternatives to synthetic pest control products. By leveraging Ginkgo’s suite of advanced biology tools, AgBiome aims to enhance the breadth and efficacy of novel biological products.

“We believe we can identify improved variants at a massive scale, which can help deliver more potent agricultural biologicals and bring the next generation of products to market,” said Magalie Guilhabert, Head of Ag Biologicals, Ginkgo Bioworkas. “We are thrilled to work with an industry leader like AgBiome as we seek to optimize live microbial strain products in their pipeline and provide even better solutions to growers around the world.”

“AgBiome is committed to creating the most effective crop protection products, and we are always looking for new technologies to enable better performance,” said Scott Uknes, Co-founder and Co-CEO of AgBiome. “We are excited to utilise Ginkgo’s capabilities in ultra-high-throughput assay development to evolve the next generation of biologicals as we continue to provide growers with improved product efficacy.”

AgBiome’s crop protection products, discovered using its proprietary Genesis platform, are based on natural microbial strains that have undergone extensive testing and evaluation to ensure consistent performance. Ginkgo’s ultra-high throughput encapsulated screening technology makes it possible to search through up to 1 million strain variants in a single run and select the best-performing candidates for further development. Built on nanoliter encapsulation technology, Ginkgo’s screening capabilities provide nanoscale growth and assay compartments and make it possible to greatly reduce the screening time for large libraries.

leveraging Ginkgo's ultra-high throughput encapsulated screening capabilities,

Company News, People, World

Coen brings over 30 years of public accounting and corporate finance leadership experience

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings announced the appointment of Steven P. Coen, CPA, a seasoned finance executive with more than 30 years of public accounting and corporate finance leadership experience, as Chief Accounting Officer (CAO), effective May 15, 2023. Most recently, Coen was the Corporate Vice President and Corporate Controller for Charles River Laboratories, a publicly held global contract research organization for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, governmental agencies and leading academic institutions, with approximately 20,000 employees across 150 locations in over 20 countries and annual revenues of approximately $4.0 billion. Prior to that, Coen served in accounting and finance leadership roles in the technology and medical device industries after spending more than 17 years in the audit practice at Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Marie E. Fallon, Ginkgo’s current CAO, will step down from her role effective May 15, 2023. Fallon was instrumental in preparing Ginkgo to go public and led Ginkgo through its first two annual reporting cycles. Fallon’s resignation was a personal decision to pursue other opportunities and is not the result of any disagreement with the Company. Fallon will remain with the Company through June 2, 2023, to support a smooth transition of responsibilities and will then serve as a consultant to Ginkgo for an interim period.

Coen brings over 30 years of public

Agrotech, Company News, Europe, R&D

Targeting development of biological solutions in nitrogen optimisation, carbon sequestration and next gen crop protection

Bayer announced that the company has closed the previously announced transaction with Ginkgo Bioworks to begin a multi-year strategic partnership to accelerate research and development of biological products for agriculture. The transaction includes the divestment of Bayer’s West Sacramento Biologics Research & Development site, and its internal discovery and lead optimisation platform.

With the close of this transaction, the Biologics business which is part of Bayer’s Crop Science Division, will also be able to further engage the open innovation ecosystem and build upon its leading position as partner of choice for innovators and scientists around the world.

Joyn Bio, the joint venture created by Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks in 2017, will be integrated into Ginkgo Bioworks to enable the continued advancement of Joyn Bio’s innovative nitrogen fixation platform. As part of the agreement, Bayer retains the right to commercialize the technology to complement synthetic fertilizer use in the coming years. Bayer is now the first major partner of Ginkgo Bioworks expanded agricultural biologicals platform, entering into a new collaboration focused on important programs in the areas of crop protection, nitrogen fixation, and carbon sequestration to identify next generation biologicals that provide clear benefits to growers.

“Biological solutions play a critical role in the agricultural innovation ecosystem, and we see tremendous opportunity for these products to add even more value for agriculture in the future,” said Dr Robert Reiter, Head of R&D at Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “The open innovation approach will accelerate the product pipeline and will make sure that we bring high-quality biological solutions and innovative technologies to the market faster.”

Ginkgo Bioworks aims to develop and advance agricultural microbial solutions across crops and geographies through broad, fully-enabled technical platforms that address diverse market needs. Ginkgo Bioworks will work independently with different partners in the discovery of microbial derived products for agriculture.

“Ginkgo is committed to harnessing the power of programmable biology to enable sustainable food production and food security worldwide,” said Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks. “We look forward to partnering with Bayer and other innovative companies, and to bringing more applications on to Ginkgo’s expanded agricultural biologicals platform so that growers worldwide can develop breakthrough products.”

Targeting development of biological solutions in nitrogen

Agrotech, Company News, R&D

Ginkgo to acquire Bayer’s 175,000-square-foot Biologics R&D center and enter into a new multi-year platform collaboration with Bayer to advance several agricultural biological programs.

Ginkgo Bioworks, the leading horizontal platform for cell programming, announced the signing of a definitive agreement for the previously announced transaction with Bayer to expand Ginkgo’s platform capabilities in agricultural biologicals. These capabilities will be built pursuant to a transaction in which Ginkgo will acquire Bayer’s 175,000-square-foot West Sacramento Biologics Research & Development site, team, and internal discovery and lead optimization platform for approximately $83.0 million in consideration. The proposed transaction is projected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Ginkgo will also integrate the R&D platform assets from Joyn Bio, a joint-venture between Ginkgo and Leaps by Bayer formed in 2017.

While chemical and plant trait products are currently the dominant offerings on the market to improve crop performance, agricultural biologicals are a rapidly growing category of solutions that have the potential to offer tremendous sustainability and performance benefits. Bayer will be the first major partner of Ginkgo’s expanded agricultural biologicals platform, entering into a new collaboration focused on the advancement of Joyn’s marquee nitrogen fixation program, as well as new programs in areas such as crop protection and carbon sequestration.

As part of a three-year strategic partnership, Ginkgo will provide research services to Bayer in the field of agricultural biologicals with the potential to earn downstream value in the form of royalties on net sales from products developed under the partnership.  As previously disclosed, it is expected that the cash proceeds from this collaboration with Bayer will significantly offset the operating expenses acquired through the transaction.  In addition to this collaboration with Bayer, Ginkgo expects to engage with other customers in supporting the development of their agricultural biological programs.

Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks said, “By acquiring one of the premier R&D sites for agricultural biologicals worldwide and partnering with the best-in-class teams at Bayer and Joyn, we are demonstrating our commitment to developing breakthrough products for growers around the world.”

Ginkgo to acquire Bayer's 175,000-square-foot Biologics R&D

R&D

Ginkgo Bioworks will become a multi-year microbial strategic partner with Bayer in their work to develop biological solutions in fields like nitrogen optimisation, carbon sequestration, and next generation crop protection

Bayer recently announced that the company is pursuing an agreement whereby Ginkgo Bioworks will acquire Bayer’s West Sacramento Biologics Research & Development (R&D) site and internal discovery and lead optimisation platform. The contemplated transaction, projected to close before the end of 2022 pending final negotiation of the agreement terms and subject to regulatory approvals, would also bring Joyn Bio’s nitrogen-fixing technologies to Bayer, successfully closing the joint venture created between Leaps by Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks in 2017.

Ginkgo Bioworks will become a multi-year microbial strategic partner with Bayer in their work to develop biological solutions in fields like nitrogen optimisation, carbon sequestration, and next generation crop protection.

The transaction will enable Bayer to expand its leading biologicals position, strengthen its access to key enabling technology in synthetic biology, and maintain Bayer’s role as the preferred research, development, and commercial partner in the biologics segment.

“Bayer’s work in the rapidly growing biologics space is an essential part of our commitment to sustainability and providing effective climate-smart products like nitrogen fixing and optimization technologies,” said Bob Reiter, Head of R&D for Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “Our work with Ginkgo will accelerate our biologicals pipeline by leveraging Bayer’s expertise in bringing reliable and effective biological products to market against Ginkgo’s synthetic biology research engine – now enhanced by an expanded ag biologics research and development platform – and help Bayer continue to expand our biologics product range to create tailored solutions for additional crops.”

This strategic shift to an exclusively external biologics research discovery pipeline with leading partners will activate the international open innovation ecosystem and equip Bayer to better leverage its proven capability in commercialising biologicals to create category-leading products that meet the growing need for climate-smart and sustainable options that complement traditional chemistries.

Ginkgo Bioworks will become a multi-year microbial