Xwell, Ginkgo Bioworks implement expanded CDC TGS program

Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA) and XWELL (XWEL) announced they are expanding their work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program to test for more than 30 additional priority pathogens, in addition to SARS-CoV-2. TGS is a flexible, multimodal platform that consists of three complementary approaches of sample collection from arriving international travelers at U.S. airports, including voluntary nasal swabbing, aircraft wastewater, and airport wastewater sampling to enhance early detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and other pathogens, and fills gaps in global surveillance. Concentric by Ginkgo, the biosecurity and public health unit of Ginkgo Bioworks, and XpresCheck by XWELL, are partnering to expand their work with the CDC to monitor more than 30 new viruses, bacteria, and antimicrobial resistance targets including several seasonal respiratory pathogens, such as influenza A and B, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2. The partners continue to help the CDC grow TGS’s capabilities to detect pathogens as early as possible, allowing for the best public health response. The program expansion will launch at four of the program’s seven major international airports.