Government of Serbia and Ginkgo Bioworks Announce Bioeconomy Collaboration in BIO4 Campus

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Oct 19, 2023, 16:01 ET

BELGRADE, Serbia and BOSTON, Oct. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, and the Government of Serbia today announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with the intent of collaborating in support of Serbia's bioeconomy vision.

Government of Serbia and Ginkgo Bioworks Announce Bioeconomy Collaboration in BIO4 Campus (Credit: Zoran Petrovic, NITRA)

Under the planned partnership, Ginkgo and the Serbian Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation will work to establish a Startup Accelerator that leverages Ginkgo's horizontal platform and extensive expertise to create and support Serbian companies building with biology. Within this Accelerator, startups will be able to leverage Ginkgo's end-to-end R&D services to quickly progress on projects that would otherwise require substantial resources and infrastructure.

Startups and larger companies alike can take full advantage of Serbia's new BIO4 campus, the key initiative that puts Serbia on the global life sciences map as a new bioeconomy hub in Europe. The BIO4 campus initiative already gathers more than 1,000 PhD scientists from 17 scientific institutions, and the campus itself will open in 2026. BIO4 brings together the research centers of companies active in biomedicine, biotechnology, bioinformatics and biodiversity. MoUs on mutual cooperation have already been signed with the likes of AstraZeneca, BGI, Merck (known as MSD in Europe), Pfizer, Roche, SK Biosciences, Frontier Biopharm, Swiss Rockets and Takeda, with more in the works.

Within the envisioned collaboration, companies on the BIO4 campus will have the opportunity to take advantage of incentives to access Ginkgo's platform. By offering flexible services, Ginkgo aims to be the end-to-end synthetic biology R&D partner for companies at BIO4 exploring solutions in pharmaceuticals, food and agriculture, industry, and specialty chemicals. Companies at BIO4 will have opportunities to engage Ginkgo staff and access Ginkgo expertise on site.

Further, under the MoU, Ginkgo and the Government of Serbia will also explore partnerships to develop and implement new biomonitoring capabilities in Serbia. For example, the planned partnership will support capacity-building and biomonitoring throughout Serbia's public health sector, including working to implement innovative pathogen monitoring programs at various strategic nodes, such as ports of entry and animal agricultural settings.

"BIO4, and the vibrant ecosystem coming together in Serbia, is an extraordinary community with a shared motivation to use biology to address major health, societal, and environmental challenges," said Austin Che, Co-Founder and Head of Startup Innovation at Ginkgo Bioworks. "Countries around the world are recognizing the transformative power of synthetic biology as a strategic technology and the importance of pathogen monitoring for preparedness. At Ginkgo, we are proud to be the partner of choice for these forward-looking governments and are excited to help accelerate R&D and create momentum for companies building products with biology."

Serbian Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovations, Dr. Jelena Begovic, said, "This partnership additionally strengthens the BIO4 campus as an attractive and dense R&D site in the European landscape. Having Ginkgo, as one of the most advanced biology companies in the world, in the BIO4 ecosystem means that all other stakeholders can benefit as well. Building on Serbia's already well-regarded AI and digital engineering talents, the government recognizes economic and health benefits of the new biorevolution that is unfolding, and strongly supports the vision to become one of the European leaders in the field. On this occasion, warm invitation is extended to other companies as well, that want to accelerate their R&D efforts and benefit from the BIO4-Ginkgo partnership."

The memorandum of understanding between Ginkgo and the Government of Serbia was signed at the Biotech Future Forum, an international gathering event organized by the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in Serbia. The Centre is part of the C4IR network, and co-founded by the World Economic Forum and the Government of Serbia.

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 (formerly known as Twitter) (@Ginkgo and @ConcentricByGBW), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks and @ConcentricByGinkgo), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks) or 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 and biosecurity platforms. 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 August 9, 2023 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:
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GINKGO BIOWORKS MEDIA CONTACT:
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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks