Ginkgo Bioworks Achieves Merck Milestone in Biologics Mfg. Pact

Ginkgo Bioworks, which is building a leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, has completed the first milestone under its partnership with Merck, focused on improving biologic manufacturing. As part of this milestone, Ginkgo will receive a research milestone payment of $9 million in cash.
 
The two companies will now move on to the second stage of this partnership, which will be focused on continuing to improve the production process.
 
“We’re excited to achieve the first milestone of our collaboration with Merck and continue our work to improve biologic manufacturing production,” said Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder, Ginkgo Bioworks. “It’s very meaningful when our team can drive impactful and technically innovative work like this, especially when we’re working shoulder-to-shoulder with counterparts like the team at Merck. As we go into the next phase of this project, we’ll continue to deploy the strain engineering, high-throughput screening and process development capabilities, as well as the assets and know-how that make Ginkgo a unique and powerful partner to top pharmaceutical companies.”