MELBOURNE, Australia and
BOSTON, Nov. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- mRNA
Victoria, the agency of the
Australian State of Victoria Government charged with building the
State's mRNA manufacturing and research capability, and Ginkgo
Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), the leading horizontal platform for cell
programming, today announced a partnership to support vaccine
development, biosecurity initiatives, and the application to
Ginkgo's platform in the pharmaceutical and biotech, food and
agriculture, and mining and bioremediation/recycling sectors in
Australia. As the first step in
the partnership, Ginkgo will establish an office in Melbourne in what is hoped to be a future
long-term business expansion within Australia.
Ginkgo's synthetic biology platform infrastructure and expertise
brings critical capability to Victoria's biotech sector, and adds
significant momentum to the State's rapidly growing biotechnology
ecosystem. Ginkgo's cell programming capabilities have supported
innovations in diagnostics and vaccine design and manufacturing, as
well as ongoing research and development of innovative products
such as living medicines, therapeutic proteins, and gene and cell
therapies. Further, the company has established one of the largest
nationwide COVID testing platforms in the
United States, helping communities across the country keep
kids in classrooms and COVID out. The company has also established
an Airport Biosurveillance Program in collaboration with XpresCheck
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"Melbourne is one of the
leading biomedical research communities in the world. We have to
forge international collaborations like this because, as we have
all learned, biology doesn't respect borders. We are incredibly
excited to work with mRNA Victoria
and hope to expand further into the Australian market," said
Matt McKnight, Chief Commercial
Officer, Ginkgo Bioworks.
Victoria is a leader in mRNA
research and manufacturing in Australia, with the nation's most
sophisticated and largest mRNA ecosystem and commercialization
capability. Through mRNA Victoria,
the Victorian Government will continue to attract world leading
biotech innovators to invest in Victoria, creating new jobs and fostering
innovation in novel RNA treatments.
"Victoria has a strong RNA
ecosystem and is ideally placed to develop a sophisticated supply
chain with critical capability from clinical development to the
establishment of onshore mRNA manufacturing to the critical
biosecurity technologies that enable us to reopen borders and get
back to our lives," said Jaala
Pulford, Victoria's
Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital
Economy.
About mRNA Victoria
The State of Victoria is the home
of Australia's biotech community
with a globally recognized research sector including the country's
leading mRNA researchers and existing capabilities in medtech,
biotech, pharmaceutical and advanced manufacturing. mRNA
Victoria is the Australian State
of Victoria Government agency charged with building a world-class
mRNA manufacturing and research capability. It leads the
engagement and partnership with domestic and international
companies, researchers, and other stakeholders in the mRNA
ecosystem, and its investments and programs accelerate the growth
of mRNA technology's scientific, commercial, and life-saving
potential. For more information, please visit
www.djpr.vic.gov.au/mrnavictoria
About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo is building a platform to
enable customers to program cells as easily as we can program
computers. The company's platform is enabling biotechnology
applications across diverse markets, from food and agriculture to
industrial chemicals to pharmaceuticals. Ginkgo has also actively
supported a number of COVID-19 response efforts, including K-12
pooled testing, vaccine manufacturing optimization and therapeutics
discovery. For more information, visit www.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 potential of
Ginkgo's biosecurity capabilities and partnership with mRNA
Victoria. These forward-looking
statements generally are identified by the words "believe,"
"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 document, including but not
limited to: (i) the effect of the business combination with Soaring
Eagle Acquisition Corp. ("Soaring Eagle") on Ginkgo's business
relationships, performance, and business generally, (ii) risks that
the business combination disrupts current plans of Ginkgo and
potential difficulties in Ginkgo's employee retention, (iii) the
outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against
Ginkgo related to its business combination with Soaring Eagle, (iv)
volatility in the price of Ginkgo's securities now that it is a
public company due to a variety of factors, including changes in
the competitive and highly regulated industries in which Ginkgo
plans to operate, variations in performance across competitors,
changes in laws and regulations affecting Ginkgo's business and
changes in the combined capital structure, (v) the ability to
implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after
the completion of the business combination, and identify and
realize additional opportunities, and (vi) the risk of downturns in
demand for products using synthetic biology. 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 quarterly report on Form
10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"SEC") on November 15, 2021 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.
mRNA Victoria MEDIA CONTACT:
Rick Keating
rkeating@keatingco.com
GINKGO BIOWORKS INVESTOR CONTACT:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com
GINKGO BIOWORKS MEDIA
CONTACT:
press@ginkgobioworks.com
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