Ginkgo Bioworks and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Botswana Announce Plans to Develop and Implement New Biosecurity Capabilities in Botswana

Ginkgo Bioworks and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Botswana Announce Plans to Develop and Implement New Biosecurity Capabilities in Botswana

Collaboration aims to leverage innovative biosecurity capabilities to promote public health, global health security, and the development of the bioeconomy

Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, and the Ministry of Health ("MoH"), representing the Government of the Republic of Botswana today announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with the intent of developing and implementing new biosecurity capabilities in Botswana .

(PRNewsfoto/Ginkgo Bioworks)

The planned partnership will support capacity-building and biosecurity throughout Botswana's public health sector. Ginkgo, through its biosecurity and public health unit, Concentric by Ginkgo ("Concentric"), plans to collaborate with the Botswana MoH to equip local public health institutions with biosecurity tools and training, as well as the secure data infrastructure that they need to leverage automation, data analysis, bio-informatics capabilities and other critical genomic sequencing technologies. Concentric and Botswana MoH will also endeavor to address key biosecurity challenges, by implementing innovative pathogen monitoring programs at strategic nodes, such as ports of entry and animal agricultural settings.

As biological threats continue to emerge, Concentric and the Botswana MoH recognize the importance of international collaboration and cooperation to promote global health security. Effective pathogen monitoring and data sharing capabilities can empower government officials, community leaders and other stakeholders, to make informed public health decisions. This planned partnership is a significant milestone in the development of Concentric's global pathogen monitoring network and will advance Botswana MoH's public health mission. Building biosecurity infrastructure and capacity will also support the long-term development of a knowledge-based economy and biotechnology workforce.

"Pathogens don't recognize national borders, so it is critical to create widespread and sustainable biosecurity infrastructure that acts as a radar to feed a global pathogen weather map," said Matthew McKnight , General Manager, Biosecurity at Ginkgo Bioworks. "We are deeply grateful for Botswana's leadership in deploying next-generation biosecurity, and we're excited to use Concentric's platform to support the Ministry of Health as they work to continually improve health care provision in Botswana and address broader health security challenges such as zoonotic spillover,"

Ms Grace Muzila , Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health of Botswana observed that, "Biological threats will continue to emerge, whether through travel, zoonotic spillover, or other means, and they will continue to put a strain on health care institutions in our country and globally. As a result, we need to put in place the tools that will enable us to detect and respond to these public health threats in future. We look forward to partnering with Ginkgo to bring Botswana into a new era of biosecurity innovation that will support our critical public health needs."

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 Twitter (@ Ginkgo and @ ConcentricByGBW ), Instagram (@ GinkgoBioworks and @ ConcentricByGinkgo ), or LinkedIn .

About the Botswana Ministry of Health

The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Botswana was established by an act of Parliament as a custodian of public health in Botswana with a regulatory oversight function. MoH is mandated to protect the public from health hazards and to ensure the delivery of quality health services to Botswana . It formulates acts, policies, regulations and norms, standards and guidelines for health services.  As the key custodian of healthcare services, almost every village or community has a health care facility located within a 5km radius.

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 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 unpredictability of the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the demand for COVID-19 testing and the commercial viability of our COVID-19 testing business, (v) changes to the biosecurity industry, including due to advancements in technology, emerging competition and evolution in industry demands, standards and regulations, and (vi) our ability to realize the expected benefits of merger and acquisition transactions. 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 November 14, 2022 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

BOTSWANA MINISTRY OF HEALTH MEDIA CONTACT:
cnyanga@gov.bw

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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks

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Use of forward-looking statements

This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including the expectation for lower costs related to the storing and managing of genomic data costs. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements are: (i) challenges inherent in developing and launching new products and services, including meeting manufacturing, quality, and performance requirements; (ii) our ability to deploy new products, services, and applications, and to expand the markets for our technology platforms; and (iii) the acceptance by customers of our newly launched products, which may or may not meet our and their expectations once deployed, together with other factors detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, or in information disclosed in public conference calls, the date and time of which are released beforehand. We undertake no obligation, and do not intend, to update these forward-looking statements, to review or confirm analysts' expectations, or to provide interim reports or updates on the progress of the current quarter.

About Illumina

Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical, and applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture, and other emerging segments. To learn more, visit illumina.com and connect with us on X , Facebook , LinkedIn , Instagram , TikTok , and YouTube

Contacts

Investors:  
Salli Schwartz
858-291-6421
IR@illumina.com

Media:  
Samantha Beal
PR@illumina.com

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SOURCE Illumina, Inc.

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AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award. (CNW Group/AbbVie Canada)

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For more information on the AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award, please visit: https://spinup.utm.utoronto.ca/biotech-innovators-award/ .

About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio.

For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.ca . Follow AbbVie Canada on Instagram or find us on LinkedIn .

About SpinUp
SpinUp is the first wet lab startup incubator at the University of Toronto , Canada's leading centre for learning and discovery and one of the world's top-two universities for health science productivity . SpinUp is purpose built to drive life science innovation. It offers early-stage start-ups access to outstanding and highly subsidized wet lab space, equipment, entrepreneurship programming and expertise at a brand new, state-of-the-art research facility at U of T's Mississauga campus. Visit our website at spinup.utm.utoronto.ca and connect with us on Instagram and LinkedIn .

SpinUp is proudly part of U of T Entrepreneurship , a network of 12 accelerators across three campuses. Over the past 10 years, this network has supported more than 1,200 capital-backed companies, which have created 17,000 jobs and raised $12 billion in external investment. U of T now launches more research-based start-ups than any university in North America outside of MIT . The AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award is part of U of T Mississauga's Blue Ticket program at SpinUp, which provides a one-year SpinUp membership.

About Neuropeutics Inc  
Neuropeutics is a for-profit Canadian pharmaceutical company developing targeted therapies to extend neurodegenerative disease patients' survival and improve their quality of life. To learn more, please visit us at www.neuropeutics.ca , contact us at info@neuropeutics.ca , and connect with us on LinkedIn .

Neuropeutics Inc CSO & co-founder Dr. Janice Robertson (left) and Dr. Marc Shenouda, CEO & Co-Founder. (CNW Group/AbbVie Canada)

SOURCE AbbVie Canada

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