Collaboration leverages Ginkgo's cell engineering and screening platform to enhance the potency and persistence of Universal Cells' iPSC-derived immune cell therapeutics
BOSTON, Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, today announced a research collaboration with Universal Cells, an Astellas company, to optimize next-generation induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cancer cell therapies. This collaboration underscores Ginkgo's capacity to deploy high-throughput biological approaches to tackle the complex challenge set associated with development of therapies targeting solid tumors.
iPSC-derived cell therapies have the potential to transform cancer care by offering scalable, 'off-the-shelf' treatment options. However, bringing efficacious therapies to patients requires robust design and screening processes to improve persistence in the patient to enable durable clinical responses. By combining Universal Cells' proprietary iPSC-derived cell technologies with Ginkgo's expertise in design and screening large CAR libraries and its high throughput, multimodal immune cell engineering platform, the companies aim to accelerate the development of more potent and durable cell therapies while maintaining manufacturability at scale.
Ginkgo's approach leverages computational tools, deep expertise in library assembly and screening, and rigorous statistical analysis and biological insight to help partners discover and engineer optimal therapeutic designs with greater speed and precision. Ginkgo's platform capabilities extend across multiple dimensions of cell therapy development, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) discovery and optimization, armoring strategies for enhanced cell survival and persistence, and gene editing tools for immune cell engineering. Ginkgo employs high-throughput pooled and arrayed screening methods that enable the simultaneous testing of numerous CAR designs from transcriptome to cell function. This approach facilitates discoveries that aim to improve immune cell persistence and functionality.
"We're excited to embark on this collaboration, which represents a significant milestone for Ginkgo as we expand our cell therapy portfolio," said Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks. "Teaming up with Universal Cells, part of Astellas, allows us to bring our comprehensive immune cell engineering capabilities to a highly respected, global pharmaceutical leader. We look forward to working together to optimize iPSC-derived allogeneic cell therapies that have the potential to improve patient outcomes and reshape how we treat solid tumors."
"Cell therapies hold immense promise, but realizing their full potential requires innovation at every step, from design to delivery," said Dr. Narendra Maheshri, VP, Genetic Medicines at Ginkgo Bioworks. "Our platform enables partners to rapidly explore the functional impact of a large number of CAR designs simultaneously, and then iterate to further refine those designs. By applying this approach with Universal Cells, we aim to help accelerate CAR approaches, opening up new possibilities in the fight against cancer."
To learn more about how you can leverage Ginkgo's capabilities in cell therapy and gene editing - from CAR-T to CRISPR and beyond - please visit our website.
About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks is the leading horizontal platform for cell programming, providing flexible, end-to-end services that solve challenges for organizations across diverse markets, from food and agriculture to pharmaceuticals to industrial and specialty chemicals. Ginkgo Biosecurity is building and deploying the next-generation infrastructure and technologies that global leaders need to predict, detect, and respond to a wide variety of biological threats. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com and ginkgobiosecurity.com, read our blog, or follow us on social media channels such as X (@Ginkgo and @Ginkgo_Biosec), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks), or LinkedIn.
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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 capabilities and potential success of the partnership and Ginkgo's cell programming 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) volatility in the price of Ginkgo's securities 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, and changes in laws and regulations affecting Ginkgo's business, (ii) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and to identify and realize additional business opportunities, (iii) the risk of downturns in demand for products using synthetic biology, (iv) the uncertainty regarding the demand for passive monitoring programs and biosecurity services, (v) changes to the biosecurity industry, including due to advancements in technology, emerging competition and evolution in industry demands, standards and regulations, (vi) the outcome of any pending or potential legal proceedings against Ginkgo, (vii) our ability to realize the expected benefits from and the success of our Foundry platform programs, (viii) our ability to successfully develop engineered cells, bioprocesses, data packages or other deliverables, and (ix) the product development or commercialization success of our customers. 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 annual report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 29, 2024, Ginkgo's most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, 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.
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