Ginkgo Bioworks and Sojitz enter into a binding definitive agreement

Sojitz, a large Japanese general trading company with extensive networks within the Japanese bioeconomy, and Ginkgo Bioworks 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 $837B 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.