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Microba and Ginkgo commence therapeutics program

Partnership brings together Microba’s data-driven lead identification platform with Ginkgo’s high throughput screening and Foundry capabilities to accelerate the development of novel therapies for autoimmune diseases.

Microba Life Sciences Limited (ASX: MAP) is pleased to announce that its Autoimmune Disease program has officially commenced, with the first strains from Microba’s biobank supplied to development partner Ginkgo Bioworks (“Ginkgo”).

Microba announced an agreement with Ginkgo (NYSE: DNA) in April 2022 to target the development of novel microbiome-based therapies for three autoimmune disorders: lupus, psoriatic arthritis and certain autoimmune liver diseases. Today’s announcement that Microba has supplied the first strains for lead characterisation marks the start of activities to discover and develop novel microbiome-derived therapies.

“The partnership with Ginkgo will accelerate the identification of microbial therapeutic leads for autoimmune diseases and help us to select the most promising candidates, which is why we are very excited to commence this project.”

Associate Professor Lutz Krause, Chief Scientific Officer at Microba

The development partnership brings together Microba’s proprietary, data-driven Therapeutic Platform with Ginkgo’s automated screening capabilities at Ginkgo’s Foundry facilities in Boston. This will enable Microba to leverage Ginkgo’s high-throughput anaerobic culturing, multi-omics data collection and analysis, functional bioassay screening, and media and fermentation optimisation capabilities to generate datasets that characterise potential therapeutic strains targeting autoimmune disorders.

Ginkgo invested US$3.5m in the Company’s recent IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

About Ginkgo Bioworks

Ginkgo is building a platform to enable customers to program cells as easily as we can program computers. The company’s platform is enabling biotechnology applications across diverse markets, from food and agriculture to industrial chemicals to pharmaceuticals. Ginkgo has also actively supported a number of COVID-19 response efforts, including K-12 pooled testing, vaccine manufacturing optimization and therapeutics discovery. For more information, visit www.ginkgobioworks.com