Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DNA) confirmed that it has inked a definitive agreement to buy FGen AG (FGen) which is a Swiss company specializing in strain development and optimization. Ginkgo anticipates that adding FGen's platform will significantly boost the capability of Ginkgo's Design-Build-Test-Learn strain development engine, which is at the heart of the company's technological stack.
FGen's technology is remarkably adaptable across species, pathways, and target products. Screening for intracellular and secreted target products, as well as small compounds and proteins, is possible using the platform. It can also handle various organisms including bacteria, yeast, filamentous species, and mammalian cells.
FGen has created a nanoliter reactor-based ultra-high-throughput (uHT) screening tool. FGen's technology, according to Ginkgo, will significantly improve Ginkgo's cell screening capabilities and enable Ginkgo to explore larger expanses of genetic advantage space, increasing the probability of obtaining enzymes, pathways, strains, or cell lines that perform to a variety of product specifications.
Ginkgo and FGen intend to complete the acquisition as soon as possible. The reason is that Ginkgo hopes to be able to regularly analyze the performance of millions of genetic prototypes in consolidated format by adding FGen's uHT screening platform to its established HT screening systems, improving the quality of candidate catches that nourish into downstream workflows for strain characterization and verification.
Furthermore, as per the agreement, FGen will get an upfront payment as well as extra conditional payment based on the successful integration and implementation of FGen technology across Ginkgo programs, among other things. Additionally, Ginkgo has been working with the FGen team for several years and feel that their technology and world-class scientists will enable it to expand its capacity to investigate an incredibly large design space and provide greater value to its clients.