Imagindairy and Ginkgo will leverage
Ginkgo Protein Expression Services and Imagindairy's
process development and scale-up expertise to economically produce
non-whey dairy proteins for the food industry, funded in part by a
competitively won joint grant by the Israel-U.S. Binational
Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation
HAIFA, Israel and BOSTON, March 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagindairy, an Israeli-based foodtech
company developing sustainable and commercially viable animal-free
dairy proteins, and Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building
the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, today
announced a new partnership. Together, Ginkgo and Imagindairy aim
to deliver a global solution for animal-free non-whey dairy protein
production in a highly cost-effective manner. This collaboration
will leverage Ginkgo Protein Expression Services and Imagindairy's
process development and scale-up expertise to accelerate the
development of functional non-whey dairy proteins. This is a
multi-year program, funded in part by a joint grant from the Board
of Governors of the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and
Development (BIRD) Foundation.
Imagindairy envisions a cutting-edge transition in the dairy
industry that preserves the flavor, functionality and experience of
dairy without relying on cows. Imagindairy combines its proprietary
AI platform with the age-old art of precision fermentation and uses
microorganisms to create sustainable, scalable dairy proteins,
without sacrificing quality, flavor, or nutritional value. With
access to its own fully operational production lines, a first in
the industry, Imagindairy is able to produce cost-effective dairy
proteins at scale.
Imagindairy and Ginkgo have partnered to design an optimized
organism capable of cost-effectively producing non-whey dairy
proteins. This will allow Imagindairy to remain focused on whey
protein production and commercialization while accelerating time to
market of non-whey proteins. In tandem, Ginkgo will utilize its AI
and high throughput Foundry capabilities to engineer biological
systems for improved production economics and functionality.
Imagindairy will then develop the production process and perform
scale-up and manufacturing of these proteins, marking a significant
milestone in their mission to provide a full range of high-quality,
animal-free dairy proteins to food producers.
Jennifer Wipf, Chief
Commercial Officer at Ginkgo
Bioworks: "Ginkgo has firmly established
itself in the alternative dairy and food proteins industry,
showcasing our leadership in protein and organism engineering. We
have many successful collaborations in this space, and we're
thrilled to get to work with Imagindairy on this innovative and
market relevant project. We're also honored to be recognized by the
BIRD Foundation. Being awarded this highly competitive grant is a
testament to our technical expertise and ability to accomplish this
project with Imagindairy. I can speak for the entire team when I
say that the samples that Imagindairy have shared are absolutely
next-level. If the rest of their pipeline is anything like what
we've tasted, we can't wait to try what's next."
Eyal Afergan, Co-Founder
& CEO at Imagindairy: "We're proud of this
acknowledgment by the BIRD Foundation, as it highlights the
importance of further innovation in the alternative proteins field,
and our capability to successfully execute this project. Our
process development capabilities and industrial-scale precision
fermentation lines will allow us to rapidly scale the optimized
strains created with Ginkgo and bring innovative non-whey proteins
to the market faster. We're deeply impressed by Ginkgo's work in
the foodtech industry and look forward to collaborating with them
on the project. We're confident this collaboration will unlock
further product offerings, providing consumers with additional
animal-free dairy delights that match the cost and taste of
traditional dairy, making significant contributions to the
industry, consumers, and the world."
To learn more about Ginkgo Protein Expression Services, please
visit https://www.ginkgobioworks.com/offerings/protein-services/
and schedule a time to talk to us by emailing
proteins@ginkgobioworks.com.
To learn more about Imagindairy, please visit
www.imagindairy.com or reach us via email
at explore@imagindairy.com.
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's biosecurity and public health unit, Concentric
by Ginkgo, is building global infrastructure for biosecurity to
empower governments, communities, and public health leaders to
prevent, detect and respond to a wide variety of biological
threats. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com
and concentricbyginkgo.com, read our blog, or follow us
on social media channels such as X (@Ginkgo and @ConcentricByGBW),
Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks)
or LinkedIn.
About Imagindairy
Imagindairy is trailblazing a new future for the dairy industry
by producing sustainable, animal- free dairy proteins that
have the same flavor, mouthfeel, functionality, and nutritional
properties as those from bovine sources. The company, founded
in 2020, utilizes over 15 years of research of advanced
computational biology and molecular biology to develop
cost-effective fermentation processes that overcome
considerable barriers in the foodtech industry. The company
has recently received a No Questions Letter from the FDA,
signifying the safety of its whey protein for consumer use. In
addition, the company is the first to acquire and operate
fully owned fermentation production lines for animal-free
dairy proteins. Imagindairy is on a mission to bring a future
of new possibilities and innovation to dairy lovers worldwide. For
more information, please visit imagindairy.com or follow us on
LinkedIn.
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) our ability to realize the
expected benefits of merger and acquisition transactions, (vii) the
outcome of any legal proceedings against Ginkgo, including as a
result of recent acquisitions, (viii) our ability to realize the
expected benefits from and the success of our Foundry platform
programs, (ix) our ability to successfully develop engineered
cells, bioprocesses, data packages or other deliverables, and (x)
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 quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 29, 2024 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 BIOWORKS INVESTOR
CONTACT:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com
GINKGO BIOWORKS MEDIA
CONTACT:
press@ginkgobioworks.com
IMAGINDAIRY CONTACT:
Jenn
Eiskamp
Demonstrate PR on behalf of Imagindairy
imagindairy@demonstratepr.com
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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks