Agriculture chemical and technology company Syngenta and Boston-based biotech company Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc. announced a new collaboration to accelerate new Syngenta biological products for plant health.
Ginkgo (NYSE: DNA) operates its agriculture biologics research and development lab in West Sacramento.
"We are so excited to expand our relationship with Syngenta. We've built a successful relationship from our work together on plant traits and now look forward to doing the same with ag biologicals,” said Magalie Guilhabert, head of Ginkgo Ag Biologicals Services with Ginkgo, and manager of the West Sacramento campus, in a news release. “Ginkgo is proud to put our excellent assets and experience against some of our customer's toughest challenges.”
Ginkgo and Basel, Switzerland-based Syngenta previously collaborated on next-generation seed technology.
In the new work, Ginkgo said it will develop and optimize a microbial strain that can meet the productivity targets of a product in Syngenta's biologicals pipeline.
Ginkgo uses genetic engineering and biotechnology to create bacteria with industrial uses.
“We'll work to achieve productivity levels to realize commercial viability for Syngenta's innovative ag biologicals product launch," Guilhabert said.
Syngenta has designated a specific molecule that it will attempt to produce at scale and cost effectively as a biological treatment.
Neither company said what kind of biologic Syngenta is pioneering. Biological controls are organic materials that are used to replace chemicals in plant protection, insect control and growth stimulation, among other uses.
"Biologicals are increasingly important in addressing the need for efficient and sustainable agricultural solutions worldwide,” said Camilla Corsi, global head of research at Syngenta Crop Protection, in a news release. “We are committed to providing farmers with greater complementary product and technology choices that promote sustainable agricultural practices. We are excited to work with Ginkgo, and are confident that their distinctive capabilities will enable us to achieve our productivity goals for our targeted molecule, expediting our time to market."
Ginkgo Ag Biologicals Services was established in 2022 when Ginkgo acquired Bayer AG’s biologics research and development campus in in West Sacramento.
Ginkgo and Bayer came to an agreement in July 2022 for Ginkgo to buy Bayer’s 175,000-square-foot West Sacramento main building with its employees, and for the companies to work together on new technologies in agriculture. The $83 million deal included the main research building at 890 Embarcadero Drive, as well as 25,000 square feet of scientific greenhouses in the same office park in West Sacramento.
Earlier this year Ginkgo's Ag Biologicals Services division acquired a "massive microbial strain library" and a "robust product concept pipeline" from AgBiome Inc., an agricultural research firm based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. AgBiome was founded in 2012 to replace petrochemical-based ingredients with naturally derived microbes, genes, proteins and enzymes that perform the same functions.
