Empowering the DRC to form the foundation for a biosecurity and bioeconomy platform
Today, we are pleased to announce that we’ve entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with the intent of developing and implementing new biosecurity capabilities in Democratic Republic of the Congo. We’ve entered this MOU alongside the Institut National de la Recherche Biomédicale (“INRB”).
The goal of our planned partnership is to support DRC’s public health institutions as they work to address biosecurity challenges in the region. We, through our biosecurity and public health unit, Concentric by Ginkgo, plan to collaborate with the INRB to equip these institutions with biosecurity tools and training. We also plan to provide the secure data infrastructure they need to leverage automation, data analysis, bioinformatics capabilities, and other critical genomic sequencing technologies. Our collaboration aims to empower the DRC to form the foundation for a biosecurity and bioeconomy platform that serves the people of the DRC and the surrounding region.
Enabling and advancing biosecurity initiatives for all
We recognize the importance of international collaboration and cooperation to promote global health security as biological threats emerge. Low-resource areas often lack the infrastructure to monitor and respond effectively to biological threats, putting the people of these regions at a heightened outbreak risk. Investing in pathogen monitoring infrastructure in areas such as the DRC is essential for building systems that are capable of detecting and responding to emerging infectious diseases.
We’re thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with the INRB. Our aim is to continue to build upon a global weather map of critical infrastructure for tracking the spread and evolution of infectious disease, creating a safer and more secure world.
Effective pathogen monitoring and data sharing capabilities can empower government officials, community leaders, and other stakeholders to make informed public health decisions. In the long-term, these capabilities can also be leveraged to form the foundation for a sustainable regional bioeconomy.
“Continued collaboration is imperative to protect public health against emerging pathogens, in the DRC and around the world. We look forward to our partnership with Concentric, which will allow us to bring cutting-edge technology and a holistic approach to advance the DRC’s biosafety capacities,” declared Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, Director General of the INRB.
Find the full press release here along with all of the latest news from the Ginkgo team.
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