Sumitomo Chemical
Ginkgo Bioworks and Sumitomo Chemical announce an expanded partnership to develop functional chemicals using synthetic biology
Sumitomo Chemical and Ginkgo Bioworks have been collaborating since 2021 using Ginkgo’s synthetic biology platform to produce products in industries ranging from personal care and cosmetics to agriculture and pharmaceuticals. Today’s announcement marks the beginning of a third project between the companies that aims to enable the mass production of functional chemicals via fermentation.
As part of this latter project, Ginkgo Bioworks plans to leverage its proprietary strain design technology to develop a microbial strain and related fermentation process to produce the target molecule, while Sumitomo Chemical will develop the manufacturing process and scale it up for commercialization. By mass-producing functional chemicals through microbial fermentation rather than traditional fossil-fuel-based chemical synthesis, companies aim to provide products with a lower carbon footprint that contribute to a carbon-neutral society.
With the continued rapid development of biotechnology and digital technologies, synthetic biology, in which organisms are genetically engineered to express desired functions, is attracting more attention in various fields. In particular, leaders in the chemical industry expect synthetic biology to have the potential to replace raw materials and create energy-efficient processes, replacing existing high-temperature, high-pressure processes that use petroleum as a raw material.
“In the field of chemicals, there is an urgent need to develop products and processes that have a low environmental impact, and we believe that the use of synthetic biology will address this need,” he said. Hiroshi UedaExecutive Vice President, Sumitomo Chemical Corporation. “By strengthening our collaboration with Ginkgo Bioworks as a synthetic biology partner, we aim to accelerate the development of innovative technologies that can be game-changing for the chemical industry and ultimately consumers.”
“Sumitomo Chemical is a long-term partner of Ginko Bioworks, and we are more excited than ever about our work together to deliver bio-based products across multiple industries. Our ongoing relationship provides an invaluable opportunity to generate continuous learning and create scalable processes that allow our partners to produce more.” and more sustainable products through synthetic biology.” Jason KellyCEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks. “We are very proud of the fruits already achieved through our unique collaboration, and look forward to continuing to work through the pipeline of products of interest we share with our wonderful colleagues at Sumitomo Chemical.”
About Sumitomo Chemical
Headquartered in Tokyo, JapanSumitomo Chemical is one of the Japan Leading chemical companies, offering a diversified range of products globally in the areas of basic chemicals and plastics, energy and functional materials, IT-related chemicals, health and crop sciences, and pharmaceuticals. The company’s consolidated net sales for the fiscal year 2022 2.9 trillion yenand the number of employees is about 33,500 as of March 31, 2023. For additional information, visit the company’s website at https://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/.
About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks is the leading horizontal platform for cell programming, providing flexible and comprehensive services to solve challenges facing organizations across diverse markets, from food and agriculture to pharmaceuticals to industrial and specialty chemicals. Ginkgo’s biosecurity and public health unit, Concentric by Ginkgo, works to build a global biosecurity infrastructure to enable governments, communities, and public health leaders to prevent, detect, and respond to a variety of biological threats. For more information visit ginkgobioworks.com And Concentricbyginkgo.comread our BlogOr follow us on social media channels such as Twitter (@ginkgo And @Centralized), Instagram (@ginkgo And @Centralized), or linkedin.
Forward-looking statements from Ginkgo Bioworks
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including statements regarding the capabilities and potential success of the partnership and Ginkgo’s cellular programming platform. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words “believes,” “could,” “project,” “potential,” “expects,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intends,” “strategy,” “future,” opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “will,” “will be,” “will continue,” “likely to 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: (1) volatility in Ginkgo’s stock prices due to a variety of factors, including changes in competition and the highly regulated industries in which Ginkgo operates and plans to operate, changes in performance across competitors, and changes in laws and regulations affecting Ginkgo’s business, (ii) the ability on the implementation of business plans, forecasts and other forecasts, and the identification and realization of additional business opportunities, (iii) the risk of downturns in demand for products using synthetic biology, (iv) the unpredictability of the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the demand for COVID-19 testing and the commercial viability of COVID testing -19 Our business, (v) changes in the biosecurity industry, including due to advances in technology, emerging competition, and evolving industry requirements, standards, and regulations, (vi) our ability to realize expected benefits from mergers and acquisitions, (vii) the result of any Legal actions against Ginkgo, including as a result of recent acquisitions, (viii) our ability to realize expected benefits from and success of our Foundry platform software, (ix) our ability to successfully develop engineered cells, bioprocesses, and data for parcels or other deliveries, and (x) Product development or commercial marketing success for our clients. The above list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of Ginkgo’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in May 10, 2023 and other documents filed by Ginkgo from time to time to 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 place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Ginkgo assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Ginkgo makes no guarantee that it will meet its expectations.
GINKGO BIOWORKS INVESTOR CONTACT:
(email protected)inkobioworks.com
Contact GINKGO BIOWORKS Media:
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Sumitomo chemical contact:
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Source: Ginkgo Bioworks
