-- Leading synthetic DNA and genomics
company among top-ranked in the biotech category --
Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST), a company enabling
customers to succeed through its offering of high-quality synthetic
DNA using its silicon platform, has been named to Fast Company’s
prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies
(MIC) for 2021.
The list honors the businesses that have not only found a way to
be resilient in the past year, but also those who have turned
challenges into impact-making processes. These companies did more
than survive - they thrived, making an impact on their industries
and the culture as a whole. This year’s MIC list features 463
businesses from 29 countries.
“2020 will go down in history as one of the years where
everything changed. The impact of COVID-19 impacted every aspect of
our lives. Being on the front lines of scientific research, we felt
it was our duty to help in any way we could. And the team at Twist
selflessly more than delivered,” said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO
and co-founder of Twist Bioscience. “I’m so proud that the tireless
drive to develop new tools for scientists around the world to help
identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus and increase the ability to
monitoring and diagnose its spread has been recognized by the
editors at Fast Company. In addition, I want to thank the Twist
teams that continue to work tirelessly to help us all through this
pandemic.”
Fast Company’s editors and writers sought out the most
groundbreaking businesses across the globe and industries. They
also judged nominations received through their application
process.
The World’s Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company’s
signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated
editorial efforts of the year. It provides both a snapshot and a
road map for the future of innovation across the most dynamic
sectors of the economy.
“In a year of unprecedented challenges, the companies on this
list exhibit fearlessness, ingenuity, and creativity in the face of
crisis,” said Fast Company Deputy Editor David Lidsky, who oversaw
the issue with Senior Editor Amy Farley.
To coincide with the issue launch, Fast Company will host its
first-ever Most Innovative Companies Summit on March 9 and 10. This
virtual, multiday summit will celebrate the Most Innovative
Companies in business, provide an early look at major business
trends, and offer the inspiration and practical insights on what it
takes to innovate in 2021.
Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March/April
2021) is now available online here, as well as in app form via
iTunes and on newsstands beginning March 16, 2021. The hashtag is
#FCMostInnovative.
Twist Bioscience’s Work in COVID-19
As SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus, Twist needed to implement an
innovative approach to quickly modify existing DNA-based workflows
to build a suite of tools to help infectious disease researchers
around the world to fight COVID-19. The first product line
developed by Twist was synthetic RNA controls, which serve as the
baseline for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. These controls allow
institutions to develop, equilibrate and test their diagnostic
test, comparing the result against what a positive case would be.
Because these are synthetic controls and not live virus samples,
researchers do not need to be in a rare biosecurity level 3 (BSL3)
lab to conduct experiments or develop tests. These controls,
initially for two strains of SARS-CoV-2, are now offered for 16
different strains, covering all known sequences. In addition, they
are listed as reference material on the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration’s website and have been incorporated into diagnostic
tests by a large number of test developers.
Building from the controls, Twist developed the SARS-CoV-2
Research Panel, for the detection of the virus, but more
importantly this panel provides the full sequence information of
the SARS-CoV-2 strain. As a virus moves through different
populations, it changes. These changes, or mutations, can cause the
virus to become more or less virulent, more or less transmissible
and more or less deadly. By identifying the specific genetic code
(sequence) of the virus in specific patients with COVID-19, it is
possible to track the strain origin, the changes that are happening
within the viral sequence, and to monitor outbreaks. These data
help authorities prepare for future outbreaks and informs public
health decisions about sheltering, reopening, and risk levels among
different populations (e.g. school age, over 70).
Twist thought ahead and introduced the Respiratory Virus Panel,
a full respiratory panel that detects a wide range of respiratory
diseases. This includes SARS-CoV-2, but also MERS, SARS, other
coronaviruses, several influenzas, pneumonias, rhinovirus,
respiratory syncytial virus and other respiratory viruses. All of
these respiratory illnesses have the ability to produce the same
symptoms – cough, runny nose, congestion and labored breathing. By
having one assay (as opposed to one for each disease, each of which
requires its own sample from the body) to detect all of these
different respiratory diseases, a researcher is able to
differentiate and, along with other tools, a clinician is able to
definitively diagnose and treat the disease at hand rather than
making a guess from the underlying symptoms. Twist has now
introduced 16 synthetic RNA controls for such respiratory viruses
in anticipation of institutions who will want to create point of
care and rapid diagnostic tests in the future.
Concurrently, Twist identified 32 potent therapeutic antibodies
that bind to SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and 48 antibodies that bind to
ACE2, the external receptor on human cells where SARS-CoV-2 binds
to gain entry and begin replication. Several of these antibodies
have been tested in live virus samples and have been found to
neutralize the virus as well as prevent weight loss in preclinical
models of COVID-19.
About Fast Company
Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the
vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging
the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future
of business. The editor-in-chief is Stephanie Mehta. Headquartered
in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures
LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found
online at www.fastcompany.com.
About Twist Bioscience Corporation
Twist Bioscience is a leading and rapidly growing synthetic
biology and genomics company that has developed a disruptive DNA
synthesis platform to industrialize the engineering of biology. The
core of the platform is a proprietary technology that pioneers a
new method of manufacturing synthetic DNA by “writing” DNA on a
silicon chip. Twist is leveraging its unique technology to
manufacture a broad range of synthetic DNA-based products,
including synthetic genes, tools for next-generation sequencing
(NGS) preparation, and antibody libraries for drug discovery and
development. Twist is also pursuing longer-term opportunities in
digital data storage in DNA and biologics drug discovery. Twist
makes products for use across many industries including healthcare,
industrial chemicals, agriculture and academic research.
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Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All
statements other than statements of historical facts contained
herein are forward-looking statements reflecting the current
beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that may cause
Twist Bioscience’s actual results, performance, or achievements to
be materially different from any future results, performance, or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the
risks and uncertainties of the ability to attract new customers and
retain and grow sales from existing customers; risks and
uncertainties of rapidly changing technologies and extensive
competition in synthetic biology could make the products Twist
Bioscience is developing obsolete or non-competitive; uncertainties
of the retention of a significant customer; risks of third party
claims alleging infringement of patents and proprietary rights or
seeking to invalidate Twist Bioscience’s patents or proprietary
rights; and the risk that Twist Bioscience’s proprietary rights may
be insufficient to protect its technologies. For a further
description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking
statements, as well as risks relating to Twist Bioscience’s
business in general, see Twist Bioscience’s risk factors set forth
in Twist Bioscience’s Quarterly Report Form 10-Q filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on February 9, 2021 and
subsequent filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements
contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof,
and Twist Bioscience specifically disclaims any obligation to
update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210309005392/en/
Twist Bioscience: Angela Bitting 925- 202-6211
abitting@twistbioscience.com
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