
Ginkgo Bioworks Collaborates with Pfizer for RNA-Based Drug Discovery
Ginkgo Bioworks, a leader in synthetic biology, is teaming up with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to delve into the world of RNA-based drug candidates. This collaboration harnesses Ginkgo’s innovative RNA technology to expedite the discovery and development of novel RNA molecules for various research areas that are of importance to Pfizer. The partnership comes with significant financial incentives, including an upfront payment, research fees, and substantial milestone payments, potentially amounting to $331 million for up to three programs. Additionally, Ginkgo stands to benefit from future royalties on sales, adding to the value of the collaboration.
RNA therapeutics utilize RNA to encode proteins capable of treating or even curing a wide range of diseases. Ginkgo’s RNA technology distinguishes itself through its combination of high-throughput screening and a versatile design framework. This approach enables the identification of natural and synthetic RNA elements that are optimal for specific applications, offering improved stability, efficient production, circularization, and enhanced translation for each RNA construct.
The significance of RNA therapeutics continues to grow, with immense potential to advance medical science. Pfizer’s Dr. Will Somers, Head of Biomedicine Design, emphasizes the importance of this partnership, highlighting the potential to discover RNA constructs with enhanced stability and expression for more effective treatments.
Ginkgo has been active on the partnership front with major pharmaceutical companies. The company recently signed a collaboration with Merck to improve biologic manufacturing with up to $490 million in upfront research fees, research milestone fees, option license payments and commercial milestone payments. The company also signed a partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim this year under which Ginkgo will receive upfront research fees and is eligible to receive success-based research and development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments for a specified number of projects up to an aggregate total of $406 million.