Ginkgo Acquires Bioengineering Assets of Massachusetts-Based Biotech Startup

On December 16th, Ginkgo Bioworks, the organism company, announced that it has recently completed an acquisition of the main assets of Novogy, Inc. The purchase includes strains, IP portfolio, codebase, and deep expertise in lipid production into Ginkgo’s bioengineering platform. The company’s 22-person technical team has also joined Ginkgo and will assist in the production of bio-oils.

Novogy was founded in 2009 as a Boston-based, independent biotechnology company that produced bio-oil, primarily for the transportation industry. Novogy developed the best-in-class lipid-producing yeast strains over the past decade, focusing on Yarrowia lipolytica.

The Science Behind the Technology

The company developed technology to convert waste paper mill sludge into biofuels. Waste paper sludge comprises approximately 50% water, 25% organic material, and 25% mineral content by weight. These minerals generally consist of kaolin, talc, and titanium oxide. The yeast species Yarrowia lipolytica is able to make use of the minerals and organic materials in this sludge to produce oils that Novogy can harvest and refine into fuel.

Novogy modifies oleaginous yeasts (yeasts whose cells are at least 20% lipids by weight), chiefly Yarrowia lipolytica, to enhance yield and generate molecules for environmentally-friendly products. Microbes, particularly oleaginous yeasts, are a promising source of sustainable, bio-based fats and oils. Ginkgo will be able to use Novogy’s assets to accelerate the development of a range of commodities and fine chemicals and materials.

Business Opportunities

“At the core of Novogy’s technology is a deep understanding of how to engineer biology to build better products,” said Vasiliki Tsakraklides, a Program Director who recently joined Ginkgo from Novogy. “This transaction with Ginkgo will allow the talent and expertise Novogy has developed to continue driving bioprocesses that deliver benefits on a global scale.”

“We are thrilled to bring Novogy’s expertise and impressive codebase into the Ginkgo fold,” said Patrick Boyle, Ginkgo’s Head of Codebase.

The company’s cell programming platform enables the growth of biotechnology across diverse markets, from food to fragrance to pharmaceuticals. Ginkgo is also actively supporting several COVID-19 response efforts, including community testing, epidemiological tracing, vaccine development, and therapeutics discovery.

Being able to produce biofuels for the transportation industry, especially those which are compatible with normal gasoline powered engines, is a great move to diversify Ginkgo’s product line. Besides, it could also capitalize on the inclination towards green energy and other environmentally friendly policies that prevail in the North East of America.

Predictions on the Biomanufacturing Industry

The term Biomanufacturing will soon become nearly synonymous with manufacturing in the context of a company. Biomanufacturing now encompasses the production of fuel, pharmaceuticals, polymer materials, and perfumes and is well poised to take on the traditional chemical manufacturers. While the sheer versatility of this technology is incredible and shows the amount of money to be made is massive, it does raise the question of how Ginkgo will handle becoming a company with such diverse product lines.

While Ginkgo is able to provide quality products for a variety of industries using its technology, in order to scale and compete with the large providers of any of those industries, it will need to bring in significant investment. This investment would be needed to buy more bioreactors and make space for them to produce at a scale that traditional fuel producers can. The company has already gone through a series F round this past May, raising US$ 789.1 million in total. Given Ginkgo’s solid reputation, it will likely be able to continue raising money.

By Eduardo Longoria

Related Article: Ginkgo Receives $1.1B from the US Government to Fight Pandemics

References

1. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ginkgo-bioworks-acquires-biotechnology-startup-novogys-microbial-engineering-platform-301194122.html

Author

Eduardo Longoria