Ginkgo Bioworks
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🧫 Ginkgo Bioworks Announces Collaboration with Merck to Improve Biologic Manufacturing
Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, today announced a new collaboration with Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, focused on improving biologic manufacturing.
Ginkgo will apply its expertise and capabilities in cell engineering, ultra high-throughput multiplexed screening, protein characterization and process optimization to improve production efficiency and increase yields. Under the terms of the collaboration, Ginkgo is eligible to receive, in aggregate, up to $490 million in upfront research fees, research milestone fees, option license payments and commercial milestone payments.
Expanded Partnership To Develop Functional Chemicals with Sumitomo Chemical
A new program with Sumitomo Chemical to develop functional chemicals with synthetic biology and expand upon our existing biomanufacturing partnership.
As part of this latest project, we plan to utilize our strain design technology to develop a microbial strain and related fermentation process to produce the target molecule. Sumitomo Chemical will develop the manufacturing process and its scale-up for commercialization. By mass-producing the functional chemicals through microbial fermentation instead of traditional fossil fuel-based chemical synthesis, together we aim to provide products with a lower carbon footprint that contribute toward a carbon-neutral society.