Ginkgo Bioworks and the Government of the Republic of Madagascar Announce Plans to Develop New Biosecurity Capabilities

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Ginkgo Bioworks and the Government of Madagascar have entered into an MOU to develop biosecurity capabilities in Madagascar, focusing on COVID-19 and other biological threats. Concentric by Ginkgo will provide infrastructure and tools to support Madagascar's public health institutions. Madagascar aims to implement a wastewater and nasal swab monitoring program at key ports of entry. This collaboration strengthens Concentric's international biosecurity network. The partners plan to expand biomonitoring capabilities across Africa. This initiative can help mitigate biological threats and support informed decision-making.

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar and BOSTON, Sept. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, and the Government of the Republic of Madagascar today announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with the intent to develop and implement new biosecurity capabilities in Madagascar.

Ginkgo's biosecurity unit, Concentric by Ginkgo, aims to support Madagascar's public health institutions with infrastructure and tools to bolster its biosecurity efforts against COVID-19 and other new or existing biological threats. Through bioinformatics training, digital pathogen monitoring dashboards, and genomic sequencing technologies, Concentric will support Madagascar's initiatives to detect pathogens at key ports of entry and throughout the surrounding region. 

As part of this multi-phased program, Madagascar aims to leverage Concentric's expertise in travel biosecurity programs to implement a wastewater and voluntary nasal swab monitoring program at the Ivato International Airport and other ports of entry.

This collaboration aims to stand up a key node in Concentric's international biosecurity network, which collects data to help public health and national security officials develop biodefense capabilities and help policymakers make informed decisions about biological risks. The partners plan to bolster biomonitoring capabilities across the African continent, to detect and respond to biological threats, following Concentric's announced partnerships with Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda.

"We look forward to our work with the Republic of Madagascar as we share a commitment to bolstering biosecurity in the country and throughout the region," said Matt McKnight, General Manager, Biosecurity at Ginkgo Bioworks. "Programs like these can create strong global biosecurity infrastructure such as a global bioradar to monitor the spread of pathogens, which is key to mitigating biological threats and giving national security and public health officials an early warning to help keep ports of entry open safely."

"As Madagascar continues to prioritize our public health initiatives, we look forward to collaborating with Concentric and leveraging the team's expertise to further build our biosecurity capabilities and better protect our country—and the world—from biothreats," said Dr. Valéry M. Fitzgerald Ramonjavelo, Minister of Transport and Meteorology of the Republic of Madagascar.

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 @ConcentricByGinkgo), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks and @ConcentricByGinkgo), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks), or LinkedIn.

About the Ministry of Transport and Meteorology of the Republic of Madagascar
The Ministry of Transport and Meteorology is responsible for managing an administration that serves the public interest by promoting a transport network that is safe, secure, efficient, accessible, and respectful of the environment as part of a sustainable development policy.

In this context and in order to increase the number of tourists, the Ministry coordinates the actions of all stakeholders at the country's entry points. The public health component of the Ministry's coordination is a main priority following the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 biosecurity 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 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 MEDIA CONTACT:
press@ginkgobioworks.com

GINKGO INVESTOR CONTACT:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com

REPUBLIC OF MADAGASCAR MEDIA CONTACT:
dircom@mtm.gov.mg

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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks