Ginkgo Bioworks and Centrient Pharmaceuticals Announce Expansion of Partnership Following Success of Initial Project to Bring Sustainable Innovation to the Generic API Space
RIJSWIJK, the Netherlands and BOSTON, USA, May 25, 2023 -- Centrient Pharmaceuticals ("Centrient"), the global business-to-business leader in sustainable antibiotics, next-generation statins and anti-fungals, and Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, today announced they are expanding their existing partnership aimed at broadening Centrient's portfolio of environmentally friendly active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), following the success of previous work together.
Ginkgo's ongoing partnership with Centrient focuses on improving the sustainability of fermentation and enzymatic syntheses of beta-lactam antibiotic APIs. In the first phase of this project, Ginkgo delivered an enzyme with significantly improved efficiency, reducing the environmental footprint of enzymatic production of amoxicillin and cephalexin APIs. These semi-synthetic beta-lactam antibiotics are widely prescribed to both children and adults and are on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Centrient aims to build on these improvements through ongoing strain projects on Ginkgo's platform which focus on reducing carbon emissions and waste production compared to traditional chemical routes.
"Our partnership with Ginkgo is fully aligned with our main purpose: to improve lives through innovative and sustainable manufacturing of medicines," said Jorge Gil-Martinez, Chief Scientific Officer at Centrient. "The initial success of this collaboration has led us to expand our joint efforts to design new ways of producing essential medicines, minimizing the environmental impact of antibiotic manufacturing. Moreover, as we design and execute our Open Innovation business model, this strategic collaboration creates synergies to accelerate the diversification of our portfolio, a strategic pillar for the future of our company. Access to external disruptive technologies, focusing on enzymes and fermentation, contributes to our vision to be a diversified and integrated partner of choice for generic medicines."
"Our partnership with Centrient, which began in 2021, underscores Ginkgo's commitment to supporting biopharma companies in bringing much-needed innovation to the field," said Kevin Madden, SVP of Platform Commercialization at Ginkgo Bioworks. "We are inspired by the early success we've already seen in our partnership and look forward to expanding our joint efforts to ultimately support better patient outcomes."