Benzinga | Nov 17, 2021 07:04AM EST

mRNA Victoria and Ginkgo Bioworks Announce Partnership to Grow the Bioeconomy & International Biosecurity Capabilities

mRNA Victoria, the agency of the Australian State of Victoria Government charged with building the State's mRNA manufacturing and research capability, and Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA), the leading horizontal platform for cell programming, today announced a partnership to support vaccine development, biosecurity initiatives, and the application to Ginkgo's platform in the pharmaceutical and biotech, food and agriculture, and mining and bioremediation/recycling sectors in Australia. As the first step in the partnership, Ginkgo will establish an office in Melbourne in what is hoped to be a future long-term business expansion within Australia.

Ginkgo's synthetic biology platform infrastructure and expertise brings critical capability to Victoria's biotech sector, and adds significant momentum to the State's rapidly growing biotechnology ecosystem. Ginkgo's cell programming capabilities have supported innovations in diagnostics and vaccine design and manufacturing, as well as ongoing research and development of innovative products such as living medicines, therapeutic proteins, and gene and cell therapies. Further, the company has established one of the largest nationwide COVID testing platforms in the United States, helping communities across the country keep kids in classrooms and COVID out. The company has also established an Airport Biosurveillance Program in collaboration with XpresCheck and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Melbourne is one of the leading biomedical research communities in the world. We have to forge international collaborations like this because, as we have all learned, biology doesn't respect borders. We are incredibly excited to work with mRNA Victoria and hope to expand further into the Australian market," said Matt McKnight, Chief Commercial Officer, Ginkgo Bioworks.

Victoria is a leader in mRNA research and manufacturing in Australia, with the nation's most sophisticated and largest mRNA ecosystem and commercialization capability. Through mRNA Victoria, the Victorian Government will continue to attract world leading biotech innovators to invest in Victoria, creating new jobs and fostering innovation in novel RNA treatments.

"Victoria has a strong RNA ecosystem and is ideally placed to develop a sophisticated supply chain with critical capability from clinical development to the establishment of onshore mRNA manufacturing to the critical biosecurity technologies that enable us to reopen borders and get back to our lives," said Jaala Pulford, Victoria's Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy.