Collaboration aims to leverage innovative
biosecurity capabilities to promote global health security and
accelerate the development of the regional bioeconomy
BOSTON and KIGALI,
Rwanda, Aug. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ginkgo
Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), the leading horizontal platform for cell
programming, and the Rwanda Development Board ("RDB"), representing
the government of the Republic of Rwanda, today announced that they have entered
into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with the intent of
developing and implementing new biosecurity capabilities in
Rwanda.
The initial goal of the planned partnership is to support
Rwanda's public health
institutions as they work to address biosecurity challenges in the
region. Ginkgo, through its biosecurity and public health
initiative, Concentric by Ginkgo ("Concentric"), plans to
collaborate on the ground with RDB to equip these institutions with
biosecurity tools and training as well as the secure data
infrastructure they need to leverage automation, data analysis,
bioinformatics capabilities, and other critical genomic sequencing
technologies.
Concentric leverages a nationwide laboratory network to provide
pathogen monitoring capabilities across thousands of sites in the
U.S., including schools, airports, and other congregate settings.
Concentric aims to build sustainable global biosecurity
infrastructure to prepare for the next new variant or novel
pathogen, and this planned partnership with RDB is a significant
milestone in its international expansion as it continues to scale
its biosecurity offering.
RDB, a Rwandan government institution, was established in 2008
to accelerate Rwanda's economic
development by enabling private sector growth. Ginkgo will build
relationships with Rwandan public health institutions and private
sector-led biotechnology initiatives in Rwanda; the RDB will contribute expertise in
skills development and on-the-ground support for the
partnership.
Concentric and RDB recognize the importance of international
collaboration and cooperation to promote global health security as
biological threats emerge. 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. For example, in the context of this MOU, Ginkgo and RDB
plan to collaborate to inform workforce development priorities in
the areas of biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and bioengineering,
and to explore potential opportunities for Rwanda to leverage its biodiversity as a
foundation for innovation within its bioeconomy.
"The future of biosecurity is global—COVID-19 has shown us all
that pathogens don't recognize national borders. To prepare for the
next biological threat, we need the infrastructure in place to
build a global weather map tracking the spread and evolution of
infectious diseases," said Matt
McKnight, General Manager, Biosecurity at Ginkgo Bioworks.
"We deeply appreciate Rwanda's
leadership working to define a new era of biosecurity, and we are
incredibly excited to use our platform to support Rwanda's public health institutions with
critical capabilities that we believe will help them face
challenges ranging from this pandemic to agricultural and travel
biosecurity."
Clare Akamanzi, Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda
Development Board, noted, "The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the
need for robust public health and biotechnology infrastructure in
Rwanda and around the world. We
are excited about our plans to partner with Ginkgo to bring
cutting-edge biosecurity capabilities to Rwanda across various sectors including health
and agriculture. We believe this will stimulate our growing
bioeconomy and help us learn more about our biodiversity."
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.
About the Rwanda Development
Board
The Rwanda Development Board is a government agency responsible
for leading the country's transformation into a dynamic global hub
for business, investment, tourism and innovation. Its mission is to
fast-track economic development in Rwanda by enabling private sector growth. For
more information visit www.rdb.rw.
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 partnership 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 May 16,
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 MEDIA
CONTACT:
press@ginkgobioworks.com
GINKGO INVESTOR
CONTACT:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com
RDB MEDIA CONTACT:
Doreen
Ingabire
Head of Communications
communications@rdb.rw
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