Ginkgo Bioworks and Novo Nordisk to Collaborate on Expression Systems for Pharmaceutical Products

Today, hundreds of millions of people are living with diabetes, obesity, and other serious chronic diseases, putting a strain on individuals, families, and healthcare systems. More effective medicines could improve treatment options for these people. Using synthetic biology, Ginkgo and Novo Nordisk will collaborate to unlock the potential of expression systems, which may accelerate and enhance the discovery and development of Novo Nordisk’s biological medicines.

“Novo Nordisk is constantly pushing the boundaries for innovative tools to bring new treatments to people living with diabetes and other serious chronic diseases,” said Brian Vandahl, Senior Vice President, Global Research Technologies, Novo Nordisk. “Using synthetic biology and the reprogramming of expression system genomes, we have the potential to engineer biological systems that will expand the chemical space of biological medicines.”

“It’s an honor to work with partners like Novo Nordisk that not only have an incredible range of critically important products, but that also provide us with the opportunity to do meaningful work that could help so many patients,” said Jason Kelly, CEO and cofounder of Ginkgo Bioworks. “At Ginkgo, we are always on the lookout for projects that will have an outsized impact on people’s lives and well-being. We’re excited to be working with Novo Nordisk in our efforts to use biology to create better medicines for patients with chronic diseases.”

Under the terms of the partnership, Ginkgo and Novo Nordisk will launch a multi-year collaboration. Ginkgo will receive an upfront R&D fee and is eligible to receive milestone payments as the parties advance in the collaboration.