Syngenta partners Ginkgo Bioworks to accelerate launch of biological solution

USA – Syngenta Crop Protection has announced a new collaboration with Ginkgo Bioworks that promises to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability. 

This partnership aims to fast-track the development and launch of a groundbreaking biological solution by leveraging advanced biotechnology and machine learning.

Syngenta, a global leader in agricultural innovation, and Ginkgo Bioworks, renowned for its platform in cell programming and biosecurity, are building on their previous successful partnership that focused on next-generation seed technology. 

This new initiative will see Ginkgo Bioworks develop and optimize a microbial strain to achieve the productivity targets of a secondary metabolite from Syngenta’s Biologicals pipeline. 

This metabolite is considered a pioneering solution in agriculture, and its efficient, cost-effective, and large-scale production is expected to significantly reduce Syngenta’s time to market for this latest innovation.

Ginkgo will utilize its expertise in Ag Biologicals, theoretical performance calculations, and rational strain engineering strategies to develop a robust microbial strain. 

Ginkgo aims to generate insights from complex data sources, diagnose strain performance limitations, and discover new biological features that meet Syngenta’s goals by harnessing biological expertise and machine learning capabilities.

Camilla Corsi, Global Head of Research at Syngenta Crop Protection, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “Biologicals are increasingly important in addressing the need for efficient and sustainable agricultural solutions worldwide. Syngenta is committed to providing farmers with greater complementary product and technology choices that promote sustainable agricultural practices. We are excited to work with Ginkgo and are confident that their distinctive capabilities will enable us to achieve our productivity goals for our targeted molecule, expediting our time to market.”

Magalie Guilhabert, Head of ag biologicals at Ginkgo Bioworks, echoed this sentiment, saying that the company is excited to expand its relationship with Syngenta. 

The two companies have built a successful relationship from their work together on plant traits and now look forward to doing the same with ag biologicals. 

“Ginkgo is proud to put our excellent assets and experience against some of our customers’ toughest challenges. We’ll work to achieve productivity levels to realize commercial viability for Syngenta’s innovative ag biologicals product launch.”

Sign up to receive our email newsletters with the latest news updates and insights from Africa and the World HERE.