Transaction is expected to bolster Ginkgo's
growing biosecurity platform and provide expanded epidemic
tracking, modeling, and forecasting offerings to public health
leaders and communities
BOSTON, Aug. 19,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), the
leading horizontal platform for cell programming, today announced
the purchase of certain epidemiological data infrastructure assets
from Baktus, Inc., a Delaware-based public benefit corporation.
Under the terms of the deal, Ginkgo will assume ownership of
proprietary datasets, modeling and analytic tools, and a software
platform with the capabilities to track, model, and forecast
epidemics and associated risks and impacts. Ginkgo also expects to
integrate several ongoing epidemiological analysis projects and a
team of epidemiological data experts into its biosecurity and
public health initiative, Concentric by Ginkgo.
Baktus, through its subsidiary, Metabiota, Inc., has built an
extensive database of infectious disease outbreaks. In addition to
epidemiological tracking and forecasting, the company created
specialized data infrastructure to help governments and other
partners understand and model the risks and disruptive impacts of
pathogens in order to promote resilience to pandemics and
epidemics. Baktus and Metabiota are expected to continue their
independent operations after transferring the assets and
epidemiological data personnel included in this transaction.
"We believe robust public health data is the bedrock of
biosecurity—it's what enables public health leaders to direct
resources where they're needed the most and researchers to develop
targeted vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics," said
Matt McKnight, General Manager for
Biosecurity at Ginkgo. "Integrating state-of-the-art
epidemiological modeling and predictive capabilities with our
end-to-end biosecurity offerings will help us continue making the
data we gather on pathogen spread and evolution that much more
meaningful and actionable for public health leaders and
communities."
"Our team has spent nearly a decade building epidemiological
data and risk modeling tools for the public and private sector to
more effectively quantify, mitigate and manage epidemic risk. This
transaction demonstrates the importance of these efforts and
capabilities," said Nita Madhav,
outgoing CEO of Metabiota, who will be joining Ginkgo as part of
the transaction. "Ginkgo's biosecurity initiative is an ideal home
for our data, analytics, and expertise, and we are very excited to
join the Ginkgo team."
Concentric has built a large-scale biosecurity platform,
bolstered by a nationwide laboratory and operational network, to
deliver comprehensive COVID-19 monitoring programs and services
across thousands of sites in the U.S., including schools, airports,
and other congregate settings. Concentric is building upon this
foundation to create a sustainable global biosecurity
infrastructure to help detect, mitigate and respond to a wide
variety of biological threats, and we expect this transaction to be
a key milestone towards developing that infrastructure.
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 success of the transaction and
Ginkgo's biosecurity platform. These forward-looking statements
generally are identified by the words "believe," "can," "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 press release, including but not
limited to: (i) the effect of Ginkgo's 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 operates and 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, (vi) the risk of
downturns in demand for products using synthetic biology, (vii) the
unpredictability of the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
demand for COVID-19 testing and the commercial viability of our
COVID-19 testing business, (viii) changes to the biosecurity
industry, including due to advancements in technology, emerging
competition and evolution in industry demands, standards and
regulations, and (ix) our ability to close and realize the expected
benefits of pending merger and acquisition transactions. 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 August
15, 2022 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.
GINKGO BIOWORKS INVESTOR
CONTACT:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com
GINKGO BIOWORKS MEDIA
CONTACT:
press@ginkgobioworks.com
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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks