Sojitz Corporation and Ginkgo Bioworks Announce Plans to Use Synthetic Biology R&D Services to Accelerate Sustainable Manufacturing in Japan

TOKYO and BOSTON— Sojitz, a large Japanese general trading company with extensive networks within the Japanese bioeconomy, and Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, today announced that they have entered into a binding definitive agreement. Together, Sojitz and Ginkgo aim to build connections with key Japanese businesses and encourage the use of synthetic biology to develop sustainable production processes.

Sojitz Corporation and Ginkgo will collaborate in a joint business development effort to offer Ginkgo’s R&D services to Japanese customers. Sojitz believes Ginkgo’s unique synthetic biology research and development services will appeal to customers within the Japanese bioeconomy that are looking to replace petroleum and chemical-based manufacturing processes with bio-based ones.

The Japanese government has formulated a Bioeconomy Strategy that envisions a $837 billion (USD) bioeconomy, and is looking to develop biotechnology applications across industries as it pursues its climate commitments to reach net zero by 2050. Ginkgo hopes to apply its platform in support of the Japanese biotech ecosystem to accelerate progress to achieving this vision.

Koji Izutani, Managing Executive Officer, Sojitz: “We are pleased to introduce Ginkgo’s technology to Japanese companies that have a desire to reduce their carbon footprint and develop sustainable fermentation processes. We are confident that Ginkgo’s expertise in synthetic biology and the breadth of its technology platform can be used to transform processes across various Japanese industries, including industrial biotechnology.”

Ena Cratsenburg, Chief Business Officer, Ginkgo: “We’re thrilled to join efforts with Sojitz and collaborate on bolstering the Japanese bioeconomy. Sojitz is a well respected trading company that has extensive relationships with many of the major industrial and chemical companies in Japan. We look forward to working with Japanese companies to leverage our synthetic biology platform to accelerate the development and launch of bio-based and sustainable products in Japan.”