Revolutionizing Enzyme Engineering: The Synergy of Big Data and AI at Ginkgo Bioworks

Enzyme Engineering and Artificial Intelligence: A New Frontier

Enzymes are the heroes of biotechnology, serving as biological catalysts that make life’s complex reactions look easy. Inside of the cell, enzymes direct the flow of molecules through metabolic pathways, orchestrating biological functions. Outside of their cellular context, enzymes have been co-opted for specialized roles in manufacturing, speeding up processes that would otherwise be painstakingly slow. In pharmaceuticals, enzymes are custom-engineered to act as targeted therapeutics. Whether in life sciences or industrial applications, enzymes elevate our ability to engineer processes and enact chemistries by facilitating reactions with speed and specificity.

For years, scientists have used a variety of tools to design and optimize these crucial biological components. Traditional methods have often hinged on exploiting evolutionary pressures—letting nature do the heavy lifting over generations and then picking the winners. Structure-based prediction techniques, like Rosetta, also made a significant impact, allowing researchers to model how tweaks to an enzyme’s structure could influence its activity.

But we’re entering a new era–one in which we can train Artificial Intelligence (AI) models based on large biological data sets. This is where Ginkgo Bioworks comes in. Our expansive cell engineering platform is a data-generating powerhouse, churning out the kind of high-quality, voluminous data that AI algorithms thrive on. The marriage of this large-scale data generation with AI models allows us to transcend previous limitations, making Ginkgo an ideal environment to train and deploy machine learning tools for the complex art of enzyme engineering.

The AI Story: Big Data, Bigger Breakthroughs

AI learns from large data sets. Ginkgo Bioworks generates these types of data: we make it possible for you to produce and learn from large data sets. Our extensive repositories of enzymes not only cover a wide range of protein sequences but are also complemented by highly targeted data, revealing precise sequence-function correlations. This dual-data approach is implemented through machine learning cycles in our enzyme engineering projects, enabling us to iteratively refine predictive models.

Ginkgo has developed an AI tool, Owl, to fine-tune enzymes for a specialized role. An expansive data set provides the foundational architecture. To construct the intricate details, however, we employ data that is calibrated to the specific enzyme and its intended function. This enables Owl, our machine learning tool, to not merely “learn” but to “apply” its learnings, writing the intricate, detailed novel enzyme that our scientists require. Owl can “see in the dark” and discern viable paths in complex enzyme design landscapes.

Ginkgo’s approach to enzyme design isn’t merely data accumulation; it’s strategic data deployment. Our Foundry is equipped to generate an extensive range of high-quality biological data at scale. From DNA design and synthesis to high-throughput screening, we create vast data sets corroborating structure-function relationships. Owl thrives in this environment, allowing us to design enzyme variants tailored to our partners’ unique specifications, whether that’s enzyme activity, specificity, or other parameters.

As we navigate the complexities of enzyme design and optimization, think of Owl as the expert navigator and our robust data sets and data-generating capabilities as the compass and map. Together, they form a symbiotic alliance that not only challenges but also redefines the boundaries of traditional R&D.

Tackling Enzymes in Central Carbon Metabolism: the power of iteration and integration

Enzymes that regulate flux through Central Carbon Metabolism (CCM) are biological masterpieces. These proteins have been shaped by billions of years of evolutionary refinement to execute their functions with unmatched precision and, in many cases, maintain high sequence and structure conservation throughout the tree of life.

In one example of Owl-guided enzyme optimization, we were asked to improve the reaction kinetics of an enzyme involved in CCM. While this enzyme had been studied for the past 50 years, the best improvement we found in the literature was a 2-fold increase in the kcat/KM–catalytic efficiency; our customer needed a 10-fold improvement in the efficiency of this enzyme in order to meet their economic targets.

Our approach to this project leveraged our Foundry’s ability to generate and test large libraries of strains. In our initial data-generation phase, we created a first-generation library featuring 2,000 distinct enzyme variants crafted using a structure-based design, as well as semi-rational methods like active-site mutagenesis for targeted alterations. This is an important step because it generated a data set for initial Owl training. With this information in hand, we designed a second generation library to give Owl more information: we maintained the library size of the first but incorporated insights from the previous round, resulting in an exciting 3.9-fold improvement—a leap that surpassed anything we had seen before.

But the real improvements were just beginning. The third generation of this program brought us to a pivotal point in our optimization journey. Leveraging Owl’s predictive analytics, we strategically developed a broad library of 4,000 enzyme variants, generating diversity where it mattered most. The result was an unprecedented 4.5-fold improvement in enzyme efficiency, serving as a testament to Owl’s growing mastery in predictive capability.

Data from these three consecutive generations positioned us to make our biggest improvements yet. Given the data that our scientists had generated, Owl continued to generate increasingly sophisticated models of enzyme function. The final iteration culminated in a fourth generation where only 100 enzyme variants needed to be tested. The result, which marked the successful completion of this customer program, was astonishing: a 10-fold improvement in enzyme function, verified through meticulous arrayed activity assays and detailed protein characterization. By integrating the large data sets generated by Ginkgo’s cell engineering platform with Owl’s predictive power, we surpassed the bounds of natural evolution and decades of research reported in the literature meet our customer’s targets.

 

The future of enzyme engineering: large data and machine learning at Ginkgo Bioworks

The confluence of big data and AI accelerates the pace of innovation to unprecedented speeds. Ginkgo’s cell engineering platform is an ecosystem designed for generating expansive, high-quality data sets customized for complex biological inquiries. This data, in turn, fuels the predictive power of AI models. Together, they form a symbiotic relationship that enables us to challenge the limitations of natural evolution and traditional research methods.

As stakeholders in the biotechnology industry, navigating complex R&D challenges requires more than just robust tools; it requires effective partnerships. Ginkgo Bioworks offers the specialized machine learning models and data-generation capabilities necessary to advance your research and overcome bottlenecks. Our suite of resources is designed to integrate seamlessly with your objectives, providing actionable insights and solutions tailored to your specific challenges.

Ginkgo is investing in the future of AI for biotech: see our recent announcement with Google about developing foundation generative AI models for DNA and protein. Leverage our expertise and technology for your next project, and to join us in pushing the boundaries of what is possible in synthetic biology.

Developing Enzyme for Single-Cell Library Prep Technology with Factorial Biotechnologies

We’re thrilled to announce our new collaboration with Factorial Biotechnologies, an emerging single-cell sequencing company with a novel intracellular library preparation technology.

Through this partnership, Factorial will leverage Ginkgo Enzyme Services to develop a novel isothermal DNA polymerase for use in their single-cell next-generation sequencing (NGS) library prep kit. Given our extensive expertise in this space, Ginkgo will provide these services under our success-based pricing model, created to help companies de-risk their research and development efforts.

Single-cell sequencing is a promising technique to better understand genetic and functional diversity within complex tissues and biological systems, but its impact has been limited, due to complex laboratory workflows and high cost.

Factorial Biotechnologies aims to dramatically simplify the workflow of single-cell sequencing with an extraction-free technology that makes it possible for complete NGS libraries to be prepared inside of intact cells within a mixed cell population. The potential for this scalable, high-throughput, and cost-efficient technology spans scientific research in the healthcare and life science industries, including precision oncology, immunology, cell and gene therapy, and quality control and screening for synthetic biology. With Factorial’s in-cell library prep technology and barcoding scheme, single-cell libraries can also be prepared using digital PCR workflows.

To support this promising technology, Ginkgo will lead a campaign in P. pastoris to develop a novel enzyme — isothermal DNA polymerase —  instrumental to Factorial’s innovative NGS library prep kit. Our advanced ultra high throughput screening methods can help identify unique enzymes and valuable reagents with desired activity and functions for innovative life science tools and research. Performing discovery and high throughput screening in our proprietary P. pastoris expression system enables synergy between early innovation and manufacturability of these valuable reagents.

“We look forward to working with Ginkgo to develop and optimize a unique and important piece of our workflow. We’re eager to see our cost-effective, high throughput technology help researchers and clinicians deliver on the promise of single-cell genomics.”

John Wells, Co-Founder and CEO of Factorial Biotechnologies

We are so excited to power Factorial’s differentiated technology on our platform. We believe Factorial’s extraction-free library prep will be a game-changer for single-cell sequencing, and we’re proud to help play a part in it. Ginkgo Enzyme Services is uniquely suited to rapidly enable novel molecular diagnostic assays through broad metagenomic searches and efficient AI-enabled enzyme engineering.

Enzymes power a diverse array of applications across industries from industrial processing, chemical manufacturing, therapeutics, as well as applications such as Factorial’s innovation in life sciences and molecular diagnostics. Ginkgo’s platform enables discovery and development of enzymes to enable innovators across industries who seek to make better technologies more accessible.

To learn more about Ginkgo Enzyme Services and how you can access Ginkgo’s success-based pricing, please visit ginkgobioworks.com/enzyme-services/.

Find the full press release here along with all of the latest news from the Ginkgo team.

What will you grow with Ginkgo?

Enhancing Premium Distilled Alcoholic Beverages with Voodoo Scientific

Today, we’re announcing our new partnership with Voodoo Scientific!

Voodoo plans to leverage Ginkgo Enzyme Services to help produce a component of ultra-premium spirit products that are truly smooth.

Most distilled alcoholic beverages produce some degree of harsh sensation, or “bite,” when consumed, which is a major deterrent for many potential customers. Voodoo identified the scientific cause for this harshness and created an enzymatic solution to give distillers the ability to manage it. Distillers can use Voodoo’s novel enzymatic solution to produce more premium products by creating smooth spirits.

Our extensive protein discovery and design capabilities will be used to help develop and optimize the enzyme critical to Voodoo’s product for a wide range of conditions in spirits manufacturing, from craft to global-scale production environments.

“Providing distillers with a means to eliminate, or control, the harshness of their spirits products is very gratifying,” said Joana Montenegro, co-founder and Chief Science Officer at Voodoo. “We believe we can enable new innovation in this large global industry and in ways that are truly meaningful to consumers seeking premium experiences. Ginkgo was the best choice of partners for us among the ones we considered because of their unique combination of strong scientific capabilities and a business model that fits an early-stage company like ours.”

Engineering this class of enzyme to operate under the unique conditions required for distilled alcoholic beverages is a great application for Ginkgo Enzyme Services. Improving the functionality of enzymes underpinning critical production processes – making enzymes work better – is an area we’re passionate about because it opens up real business opportunities for our customers, especially as they push into new product development.

To learn more about Ginkgo’s work in this space, join us on June 30th from 10:00 – 11:00 am ET for our Functional Food Proteins with Microbial Expression Systems virtual event.

What will you grow with Ginkgo?

Sustainable Innovation in Generic API Space with Centrient

Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Enzymatic Production of APIs

Today we’re pleased to announce an expansion of our existing partnership with Centrient, the global business-to-business leader in sustainable antibiotics, next-generation statins and anti-fungals. The partnership is aimed at broadening Centrient’s portfolio of environmentally friendly active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), following the success of previous work together.

Our ongoing partnership with Centrient focuses on improving the sustainability of fermentation and enzymatic syntheses of beta-lactam antibiotic APIs. In the first phase of this project, we delivered an enzyme with significantly improved efficiency, reducing the environmental footprint of enzymatic production of amoxicillin and cephalexin APIs. These semi-synthetic beta-lactam antibiotics are widely prescribed to both children and adults and are on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. Centrient aims to build on these improvements through ongoing strain projects on our platform which focus on reducing carbon emissions and waste production compared to traditional chemical routes.

Our Ginkgo Enzyme Services are enabling Centrient’s sustainable API production

“Our partnership with Ginkgo is fully aligned with our main purpose: to improve lives through innovative and sustainable manufacturing of medicines,” said Jorge Gil-Martinez, Chief Scientific Officer at Centrient. “The initial success of this collaboration has led us to expand our joint efforts to design new ways of producing essential medicines, minimizing the environmental impact of antibiotic manufacturing. Moreover, as we design and execute our Open Innovation business model, this strategic collaboration creates synergies to accelerate the diversification of our portfolio, a strategic pillar for the future of our company. Access to external disruptive technologies, focusing on enzymes and fermentation, contributes to our vision to be a diversified and integrated partner of choice for generic medicines.”

Our partnership with Centrient, which began in 2021, underscores Ginkgo’s commitment to supporting biopharma companies in bringing much-needed innovation to the field. We are inspired by the early success we’ve already seen in our partnership and look forward to expanding our joint efforts to ultimately support better patient outcomes.

Find the full press release here along with all of the latest news from the Ginkgo team.

What will you grow with Ginkgo?

Optimizing Enzyme Expression and Performance with Zymtronix

Optimizing enzymes for Zymtronix’s cell-free manufacturing platform

Today we are pleased to announce our partnership with Zymtronix, a developer of cell-free process technologies. Together we aim to optimize enzymes used in Zymtronix’s proprietary cell-free platform for the production of important ingredients in food, agriculture, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Enzymatic biocatalysis is a powerful manufacturing technology that can enable the production of a wide range of chemicals and molecules. Zymtronix’s cell-free platform is designed to solve challenges associated with traditional biocatalysis and seeks to enable the production of a wide range of products with precision and productivity. By partnering with us to build and produce bioengineered market-ready enzymes, Zymtronix anticipates being able to extend its solutions into the pharma, nutrition, agriculture markets, among others.

Zymtronix aims to leverage Ginkgo Enzyme Services to discover, optimize, and produce enzymes

Ginkgo Enzyme Services offers partners end-to-end support for the discovery, optimization, and production of enzymes for diverse applications. Through the partnership, we will leverage our suite of enzyme services to engineer enzymes for Zymtronix’s applications using metagenomic enzyme discovery as well as improve enzyme expression and production host performance.

We’re thrilled to welcome Zymtronix to the platform and support their applications in sustainable ingredients and beyond. We’ve built out our platform to serve a wide variety of enzyme discovery, engineering, optimization and scale up efforts, and we’re so excited for the work to come in this partnership. Zymtronix’s cell-free biomanufacturing platform is pioneering solutions for various industries, and we’re eager to leverage our end-to-end capabilities and help expand its efforts in transforming the way enzymes are used.

“This partnership will greatly accelerate our work of bringing the precision and scalability of cell-free biomanufacturing and sustainable ingredients to market starting with alternatives to animal sources; Ginkgo is uniquely able to support us with both enzyme engineering and strain expression, helping us continue to accelerate commercialization,” said Stéphane Corgié, CEO-CTO and founder, Zymtronix. “We hope to extend this partnership in the future to facilitate the production of multiple end-market products.”

To learn more about Ginkgo Enzyme Services, please visit ginkgobioworks.com/enzyme-services/.

Find the full press release here along with all of the latest news from the Ginkgo team.

What will you grow with Ginkgo?

The Enzyme Intelligence Virtual Event

Enzymes are having a moment

These days, there’s a lot going on in the enzyme space. Machine learning (ML) is changing the way we think about the previously hard problems of modeling protein structures and predicting protein functions. Enzyme-driven industries like pharmaceutical manufacturing, diagnostics, and industrial green chemistry are looking forward to new and better enzymes made possible by ML.

At Ginkgo, we love technologies that make biology easier to engineer. We’ve built an ML-guided enzyme engineering stack that draws on our Foundry’s established strengths in assembling smart DNA libraries, engineering organisms, and screening in (ultra) high throughput. The result is the new Ginkgo Enzyme Services offering that enables our customers to discover new enzymes and optimize existing ones. We’re super excited to share the results being delivered.

So let’s take a moment to talk about enzymes

On December 15th, Ginkgo hosted the Enzyme Intelligence Virtual Event. Dr. Emily Wrenbeck, Head of Protein Engineering, presented to an audience of more than 450 about how Ginkgo’s Foundry combines ML with massive experimental datasets to enable enzyme engineering.

The presentation was structured around 4 case studies:

  • Enzyme Discovery. An ML-guided search of a large metagenomic library led Ginkgo to an unexpected corner of sequence space, producing dozens of candidate enzymes and opening up IP options for the customer.
  • Better Activity. A customer’s project-critical enzyme had a reputation for being recalcitrant to engineering. Iterative protein design cycles produced a 10-fold improvement in activity over wild type as measured by kcat/KM.
  • Better Specificity. A naturally sourced enzyme made 4 undesired byproducts, with the desired product only 10% of the total. Ginkgo tested over 10,000 variants with ultra high throughput GC-MS to bring the product specificity to over 75%
  • Better Biocatalysts. A customer’s enzyme suffered from a low S:H (synthesis:hydrolysis) ratio. In a single round of engineering, Ginkgo was able to improve both enzyme speed and specificity under industrially relevant process conditions.

A recurring theme in the event was the value added by integrating ML tools with the broader capabilities of Ginkgo’s foundry. An engineering cycle that brings together DNA assembly, assay development, high-throughput screening, computational tools, and human experts is required to consistently deliver improved enzyme performance.

Far from replacing data, ML makes data more valuable. The massive biological datasets Ginkgo can generate were key to the success of these enzyme engineering programs.

It’s time for end-to-end Enzyme Services

Following the technical presentation, Ginkgo’s Business Development team took the stage to answer questions about Ginkgo’s latest offering. Building on powerful ML-guided enzyme engineering capabilities, Gingko Enzyme Services offers end-to-end solutions for R&D leaders looking for better enzymes.

  • Novel Enzyme Discovery. Ginkgo’s large in-house metagenomic libraries are combined with ultra high throughput screening to identify new enzymes with a desired activity. These enzymes are often unrelated to previously described candidates, opening up new IP options for customers.
  • Function & Stability Optimization. ML-guided protein design is combined with a range of sequence-based, structure-based, and classical enzymology tools to improve a candidate enzyme’s activity, stability, specificity or expression level.
  • Robust Host Strains. Ginkgo customers have access to proprietary bacterial and fungal host strains optimized for protein production, including methanol-free Pichia pastoris and low viscosity Aspergillus niger.
  • Fermentation Process Development. When it comes to commercial-scale enzyme production, Ginkgo offers automated DOE (Design of Experiments) in Ambr® 250 bioreactors to optimize the production process.
  • Manufacturing Scale-Up & Tech Transfer. Ginkgo can perform pilot-scale fermentation up to 3,000 L. Customers are supported in the development of downstream processing and purification methods. Ginkgo can transfer processes to a manufacturing partner, including for GMP production.

Make the most of this moment for enzymes

A key theme of the Enzyme Services portion of the event was the flexibility of Ginkgo’s offering. As a horizontal platform, Ginkgo supports customers through the entire enzyme R&D process from discovery to development and deployment. This versatility is essential to serve the diverse needs of customers across a range of enzyme-powered industries including: animal feed, biocatalysis, diagnostics, green chemistry, metabolic engineering, mRNA manufacturing, waste remediation, and more!

A recording of the Enzyme Intelligence Virtual Event is available here. Ready to engage Ginkgo’s Foundry for your project? Have questions? Contact [email protected]

What will you grow with Ginkgo?

Launching Ginkgo Enzyme Services

Enzyme Services to Enable Applications across Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics, Food and Agriculture, and Beyond

Today we are very pleased to announce the launch of Ginkgo Enzyme Services. Ginkgo Enzyme Services is powered by ultra high throughput screening and machine learning-guided protein design, as well as optimized proprietary bacterial and fungal host strains. Ginkgo Enzyme Services solves challenges for R&D teams developing enzymes, from discovery of novel enzyme activity through optimization of enzyme function and large scale manufacturing.

A virtual event on Dec. 15 will give an overview of Ginkgo’s Enzyme Intelligence approach to machine learning-guided enzyme engineering

Enzymes are valuable biocatalysts used across a wide range of industries including in the production of medicines, food, materials, and beyond. Our end-to-end Enzyme Services support R&D leaders looking to identify new enzyme activity to replace existing chemical synthesis steps, improve enzyme specificity, activity, and stability in industrially relevant conditions, and optimize the manufacturing of enzymes for reduced cost of goods and environmental impact.

We’ve supported enzyme R&D programs across a wide range of industries, including biopharma manufacturing and discovery. Notable enzyme services projects include breakthrough work with Aldevron to improve the manufacturing efficiency of vaccinia capping enzyme, a critical reagent used in the production of mRNA vaccines, and a recently announced partnership with Merck to develop biocatalysts for active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing.

Our suite of services covers the full end-to-end process for enzyme R&D, providing synergies between enzyme sequence, host strain, and manufacturing processes that can enable commercial success.

Ginkgo Enzyme Services includes:

  • Novel Enzyme Discovery
  • Enzyme Function & Stability Optimization
  • Access to Optimized Host Strains for Robust Expression
  • Optimized Fermentation Process Development
  • Manufacturing Scale-Up, Process Development & Tech Transfer

“Most R&D teams working on developing enzymes expect to need to stitch together a bunch of different services and tools, both in-house and external to make their enzymes work,” said Jake Janey, PhD, a pioneer in the field of biocatalysis. “The ability for Ginkgo to guide the process all the way, providing many intermediate touchpoints with data and prototypes for development and decision making, is a great value-add.”

At Ginkgo, we are constantly working to improve our platform to provide best-in-class services to enable our customers to meet their R&D challenges head on. As a horizontal platform, we have the flexibility, breadth, and scale to serve customers across biocatalysis, diagnostics, and beyond with the full spectrum of tools they need to discover, develop, and deploy enzymes for their processes and products.

With world class expression hosts, automation, computational design, and fermentation capabilities, we are excited to partner with companies across all industries to bring their enzyme-dependent products from conception to market more swiftly and reliably than ever before.

Virtual event details:

Join us for Enzyme Intelligence, a virtual event featuring Ginkgo’s head of protein engineering, Emily Wrenbeck, on December 15, 2022. Sign up here.

Learn more about Ginkgo Enzyme Services at our webpage, or write to us at [email protected].

Find the full press release here along with all of the latest news from the Ginkgo team.

What will you grow with Ginkgo?

Optimizing Crucial Drug Manufacturing of APIs with Merck

Ginkgo to engineer key biocatalytic enzymes for potential use in Merck’s drug manufacturing processes

Today, Ginkgo is proud to announce a collaboration with Merck to optimize the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The aim is to engineer up to four enzymes for use as biocatalysts in Merck’s active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing efforts. Through this collaboration, we will leverage our extensive experience in cell engineering and enzyme design, along with our capabilities in automated high throughput screening, manufacturing process development/optimization, bioinformatics and analytics to deliver optimal strains for expression of targeted biocatalysts.

Biocatalysis is a sustainable and effective alternative to some steps in industrial chemical synthesis

Enzyme biocatalysts can reduce costly synthesis and purification steps, thereby decreasing production costs. Through this collaboration, we aim to optimize several biocatalysts by leveraging our world-class proprietary fungal strains, cell line development, enzyme engineering and optimization, and multiomics expertise.

“Ginkgo’s fungal strains present a major opportunity for improving biocatalysis. E. coli is currently the mainstay host for expressing enzymes, but a large number of enzymes will not express properly in E. coli, and those that do express in E. coli may have better homologs that only express in fungal strains,” said Behzad Mahdavi, our Senior Vice President of Biopharma Manufacturing and Life Sciences Tools. “This enzyme optimization project with Merck has the potential to help reduce the cost of goods and enable a more robust supply chain for APIs.”

Merck is a pioneer in biocatalysis, improving manufacturing of crucial medicines. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Merck and to be leveraging our platform capabilities for improved enzyme activity and production. Ginkgo’s platform model enables us to identify improved enzymes and develop powerful fungal strains and fermentation processes for enzyme manufacturing, empowering downstream API production for our customers.

Under the terms of the collaboration, Ginkgo will earn an upfront research and development fee and is eligible for success-based research and development milestone payments. In addition, Ginkgo is eligible to earn commercial milestone payments for each of a specified number of biocatalysis targets, which have the potential to total, in the aggregate, up to $144 million. To learn more about Ginkgo’s work in enzyme discovery, visit this webpage and talk to our team today.

Find the full press release here along with all of the latest news from the Ginkgo team.

What will you grow with Ginkgo?

Developing Synthetic Biotics for Gout with Synlogic

Ginkgo and Synlogic announce the second drug candidate—a treatment for gout—in their partnership to develop synthetic biotics

Last November, we announced that SYNB1353, an engineered strain of the probiotic bacteria E. coli Nissle (EcN) designed and developed through a collaboration between Ginkgo and Synlogic, was to be nominated for investigational new drug (IND) status with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This would mark the first medicine developed on Ginkgo’s platform to enter IND-enabling studies but just the beginning of our work with Synlogic to create living medicines.

Today, we’re pleased to share Synlogic’s announcement of SYNB2081, a new drug candidate developed in partnership between our two companies for the treatment of gout.

Addressing unmet needs for patient care

Gout is a complex form of inflammatory arthritis that occurs when excess uric acid in the body forms crystals in the joints. Patients experience a range of symptoms, including intense joint pain, inflammation and redness, and limited range of motion in the affected joints. Unfortunately, current treatment options present limitations in both safety and efficacy, highlighting a need for new approaches.Gout is also a recognized risk factor in chronic kidney disease (CKD).

SYNB2081 is a synthetic biotic designed to lower uric acid for the treatment of gout. We’re honored to work with the Synlogic team in this pioneering next step to potentially help patients living with gout. As we’ve seen the Synlogic pipeline develop the past year, we’re eager to continue supporting Synlogic in generating additional therapeutic candidates.

SYNB2081 is named after one of the largest and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimens in the world. Nicknamed “Sue,” the specimen is housed at the Field Museum in Chicago and is officially named FMNH PR 2081. Data from “Sue” suggests that dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus rex suffered from gout much in the same way as other reptiles and birds do.

What if we could program microbes to act as medicine?

“With our second drug candidate into clinical development, this not only demonstrates the value of combining Ginkgo’s Codebase with our Synthetic Biotic platform, but also highlights the potential to develop Synthetic Biotics across a range of diseases, giving us the potential to provide meaningful new treatment options to patients in need,” said Dr. David Hava, Chief Scientific Officer, Synlogic.

The advancement of SYNB2081 and SYNB1353 are clear indicators of the transformative platform Synlogic has created to power new medicines through synthetic biology.

Find the full press release here along with all of the latest news from the Ginkgo team.

What will you grow with Ginkgo?

Optimizing the Brightness of Glowing Plants with Light Bio

Leveraging Ginkgo’s engineering capabilities to optimize performance of Light Bio’s light-emitting plants

We’re excited to announce a new collaboration with Light Bio – a company creating bioluminescent plants for home and garden. The agreement will leverage Ginkgo’s plant cell assays for bioluminescence engineering. The aim: to improve the luminescent output and efficiency of the enzymes within Light Bio’s glowing ornamental plants.

Nothing captures the wonder of biology quite like seeing glowing plants in person. Our platform enables developers to imagine with biology and to design all types of cells, from bacteria and yeast to mammalian and plant cells. We’re so excited to bring this unique application onto our platform and to help Light Bio bring the magic of glowing plants to people.

Light Bio has discovered a new type of bioluminescence mechanism and uses synthetic biology to engineer plants to efficiently emit light. The original light emission pathway Light Bio uses in its glowing plants comes from bioluminescent mushrooms. The company is now focused on expanding its engineering capabilities to support the creation of glowing plants.

“We are excited to collaborate with Ginkgo toward additional multifold output and efficiency improvements powered by Ginkgo’s plant cell engineering capabilities across both individual enzyme and metabolic pathway improvements,” said Keith Wood, CEO, Light Bio.

What will you grow with Ginkgo?