GreenLab Selects Ginkgo Enzyme Services to Develop Novel Enzyme That Breaks Down 'Forever Chemicals'
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Insights
GreenLab's initiative to develop a commercial enzymatic solution for PFAS degradation represents a significant advancement in the field of environmental biotechnology. The collaboration with Ginkgo Bioworks and Allonnia reflects a concerted effort to address a pressing environmental and public health issue. PFAS compounds, due to their persistence and bioaccumulation, present a formidable challenge for remediation technologies. The deployment of enzymes capable of breaking down these substances could revolutionize waste management and environmental cleanup practices.
The use of metagenomic discovery and AI-enabled enzyme engineering by Ginkgo Bioworks is a testament to the cutting-edge techniques being employed to tackle complex biochemical challenges. If successful, this approach may set a new standard for bioremediation, potentially leading to more targeted and efficient degradation pathways for various pollutants.
For stakeholders, including investors and environmental agencies, the implications are profound. A scalable and effective solution to PFAS contamination could mitigate long-term health risks and environmental damage, potentially saving billions in cleanup costs. Moreover, this technology could be adapted for other recalcitrant pollutants, opening up new markets and applications for GreenLab and its partners.
The integration of enzyme production within corn plants is a novel approach that could disrupt the agricultural biotechnology sector. GreenLab's proprietary technology not only offers a sustainable pathway to enzyme production but also aligns with existing agricultural value chains. By utilizing corn as a bioreactor, GreenLab circumvents the need for extensive capital investments typically associated with industrial enzyme production facilities.
From an agricultural standpoint, this method could enhance the value of corn as a crop beyond its traditional uses. However, it is crucial to assess the regulatory implications and public acceptance of genetically modified crops designed for bioremediation purposes. The success of this venture hinges on navigating these challenges effectively.
Investors should consider the potential for market disruption and the scalability of this technology. The ability to produce enzymes in situ could significantly reduce production and logistics costs, providing GreenLab with a competitive advantage. Furthermore, as environmental regulations become more stringent, demand for such innovative solutions is likely to increase, presenting a lucrative opportunity for early investors.
The partnership between GreenLab, Ginkgo Bioworks and Allonnia signifies a strategic investment in the burgeoning field of sustainable biotechnology. The financial implications of developing a commercially viable solution for PFAS degradation are substantial, given the global scale of PFAS pollution and the lack of effective remediation technologies.
Analyzing the success-based pricing model adopted by Ginkgo Bioworks reveals a risk-sharing arrangement that could attract more companies to invest in research and development without the deterrent of prohibitive costs. This model may become more prevalent as companies seek to innovate while managing financial risks.
For investors, the long-term benefits of such a solution include not only environmental and health improvements but also the potential for significant returns as the technology is adopted and scaled. The versatility of the proposed enzymatic solution suggests that it could be applied to a range of environmental contaminants, thereby expanding the market potential.
- GreenLab is creating an enzymatic solution — to be grown and scaled within corn plants — to degrade PFAS, often called "forever chemicals," a major health and environmental concern
- Ginkgo has been tapped to discover and develop an enzyme that will be critical to the success of GreenLab's PFAS degradation application
- Through a partnership with Allonnia, this project is the first step in a path that could potentially lead to the first-ever commercially deployed enzymatic solution for PFAS degradation
Ginkgo Enzyme Services provides companies with end-to-end enzyme discovery and optimization R&D services. Given its extensive expertise in this space and the nature of this particular project, Ginkgo is providing these services under its success-based pricing model, created to help companies de-risk their research and development efforts.
Cornfield Factories
GreenLab's proprietary technology allows it to grow enzymes and other proteins inside a corn kernel. By producing proteins in a cultivated crop, GreenLab can readily scale up production across acres of cornfields, with little additional up-front capital and infrastructure. After the protein of interest is extracted from the kernel with minimal waste, most of the corn used will then proceed along the existing value chain, including food, feed or fuel. GreenLab already has two transformative proteins in commercial production, including manganese peroxidase (a multipurpose environmental remediation solution) and brazzein (which delivers a high-intensity sweetness).
The PFAS Problem
PFAS, short for "per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances", describes a group of manufactured chemicals that have commonly been used in nonstick and waterproofing agents for decades. They bear the moniker of 'forever chemicals' owing to their enduring nature and inability to break down in the environment. They are associated with many dangerous health effects including cancer, reproductive and immune system harm, and other diseases.
A Kernel of Hope: Bio-Based Solutions to Break Down PFAS
There is currently no known commercial process for degrading these forever chemicals, but GreenLab is on a mission to change that and reverse their perpetual environmental buildup. PFAS degradation is a significantly complex problem, and currently no PFAS-degrading enzymes have been commercialized. GreenLab aims to tackle this difficult enzymological problem by leveraging Ginkgo Enzyme Services to discover and develop a novel enzyme for use in their PFAS degradation application. This project is the first step in a journey that could potentially lead to the first deployment of a commercially viable enzymatic solution that can degrade one of the most recalcitrant chemicals in existence.
Ginkgo Enzyme Services
Ginkgo will lead an metagenomic discovery campaign leveraging its vast metagenomic database to identify a library of PFAS-degrading enzymes. Ginkgo will then use advanced ultra-high throughput screening methods to identify unique enzymes with desired activity and transfer the best candidates to GreenLab. In later stages of this collaboration, Ginkgo will further engage in AI-enabled enzyme engineering to further improve on the discovered enzyme.
"GreenLab is eager to work with Ginkgo towards solving such a massive and prevalent environmental and health problem," said Karen Wilson, CEO of GreenLab. "By leveraging Ginkgo Enzyme Services to conduct our enzyme discovery and development, we believe we're enabling our R&D team to produce, pilot, and deploy our product faster and with less risk than any other option we considered."
"We are thrilled to be working with GreenLab on PFAS degradation, and are ready to utilize our platform to solve such a challenge," said Sneha Srikrishnan, Director Business Development and Product Lead, Proteins. "At Ginkgo, we say that our partners can find the needle they're looking for in our tech stack. We'll be deploying our powerful AI-enabled in-house computational tools, best-in-class enzyme Codebase, and ultra-high throughput screening methods as we seek to find a novel enzyme fit for GreenLab to address this globally important enzymological problem."
Allonnia, the bio-ingenuity company™ dedicated to extracting value where others see waste, plans to work with Ginkgo and GreenLab to help discover a novel enzyme to combat PFAS, and will work with GreenLab as a commercial partner deploying the enzyme in their end-to-end PFAS solution. In doing so, Allonnia is furthering its commitment to the identification of a biological solution for PFAS degradation. The company has already introduced a PFAS separation and concentration solution with EPOC ENVIRO's SAFF unit, a sustainable PFAS remediation technology. Integrating a process for the biodegradation of PFAS concentrate discovered through this project into Allonnia's solution would represent a breakthrough closed-loop approach. Additionally, Allonnia believes that this solution could be expanded in the future to serve as a degradation technology for other applications where there is a significant unmet need today, such as in-situ soil remediation.
To learn more about Ginkgo Enzyme Services and how you can access Ginkgo's success-based pricing, visit ginkgobioworks.com/enzyme-services/.
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 and @ConcentricByGinkgo), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks) or LinkedIn.
About GreenLab
GreenLab's mission is to green industry with next-generation plant biotechnology. Our platform transforms a cornfield into the factory of the future. We deliver on biotech's promise of next-generation proteins, end-to-end sustainability and unlimited scalability. GreenLab currently has two patented proteins growing in corn that are already in commercial production and is seeking partners who need to improve the cost, scale or environmental footprint of their protein biomanufacturing. Learn more at www.greenlab.com, or follow us on X as @GreenLabMfg or 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
GREENLAB CONTACT:
Stephen Lallo
SLallo@greenlab.com
401-465-5418
GINKGO BIOWORKS INVESTOR CONTACT:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com
GINKGO BIOWORKS MEDIA CONTACT:
press@ginkgobioworks.com
ALLONNIA CONTACT
Chuck Price, Chief Commercial Officer
cprice@allonnia.com
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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks
FAQ
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