Bayer to Create Ag Biologicals Powerhouse Partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks, Advancing Joyn Bio Technology Platforms

April 22, 2022 |

7 min read

Bayer announced that the company is pursuing an agreement whereby Ginkgo Bioworks will acquire Bayer’s West Sacramento Biologics Research & Development site and internal discovery and lead optimization platform.

Projected transaction supports efforts to accelerate expansion of a diversified portfolio of high-quality microbial-based solutions for growers around the world by further enhancing Bayer’s biologics strategy of tapping into the open innovation ecosystem
Biologics segment expected to continue rapid growth for the next decade with potential to develop transformative solutions addressing the challenges of climate change, complementary to traditional chemistries
Follow-on multi-year strategic collaboration with Ginkgo will focus acquired Joyn and Bayer technologies and expertise in nitrogen optimization, carbon sequestration and next generation crop protection; capitalize on success of Joyn Bio joint venture.

MONHEIM, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bayer today announced that the company is pursuing an agreement whereby Ginkgo Bioworks will acquire Bayer’s West Sacramento Biologics Research & Development (R&D) site and internal discovery and lead optimization platform. The contemplated transaction, projected to close before the end of 2022 pending final negotiation of the agreement terms and subject to regulatory approvals, would also bring Joyn Bio’s nitrogen-fixing technologies to Bayer, successfully closing the joint venture created between Leaps by Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks in 2017. Ginkgo Bioworks will become a multi-year microbial strategic partner with Bayer in their work to develop biological solutions in fields like nitrogen optimization, carbon sequestration, and next generation crop protection.

The transaction will enable Bayer to expand its leading biologicals position, strengthen its access to key enabling technology in synthetic biology, and maintain Bayer’s role as the preferred research, development, and commercial partner in the biologics segment.

“Bayer’s work in the rapidly growing biologics space is an essential part of our commitment to sustainability and providing effective climate-smart products like nitrogen fixing and optimization technologies,” said Bob Reiter, Head of R&D for Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “Our work with Ginkgo will accelerate our biologicals pipeline by leveraging Bayer’s expertise in bringing reliable and effective biological products to market against Ginkgo’s synthetic biology research engine – now enhanced by an expanded ag biologics research and development platform – and help Bayer continue to expand our biologics product range to create tailored solutions for additional crops.”

This strategic shift to an exclusively external biologics research discovery pipeline with leading partners will activate the international open innovation ecosystem and equip Bayer to better leverage its proven capability in commercializing biologicals to create category-leading products that meet the growing need for climate-smart and sustainable options that complement traditional chemistries.

“This is an exciting time for biologicals and Bayer understands that development of the next generation of biological products must be accelerated to help growers face the challenges of climate change and food security as well as to meet the demands of sustainability,” said Benoit Hartmann, Senior Vice President and Head of Biologics, Crop Science Division. “Leading Bayer biologics products like Serenade and BioRise 2 are already being used by growers across the world to reduce their use of products associated with higher greenhouse gas emissions and improve yields. We expect that in the coming decade biologicals as an industry will continue to grow rapidly, and we are ready to leverage our expertise, experience, and resources to not only maintain, but expand on our leadership position in biologicals with a diverse set of leading partners.”

The R&D platform of Joyn Bio is intended to join forces with Ginkgo Bioworks along with Bayer’s West Sacramento R&D platform through this transaction upon the projected close before the end of the year. Joyn’s successful developments in the exploration of the potential of synthetic biology in nitrogen fixation and other projects will be brought together with Bayer’s proven biologics development and optimization platform under one roof in order to strengthen biologicals discovery and development and enable accelerated work on sustainable breakthrough technologies for agriculture.

“Ginkgo is an established and growing leader in synthetic biology and we are now bringing the success that we’ve demonstrated in other complex, regulated industries to agriculture through the acquisition of the Bayer Biologics West Sacramento Site along with its discovery and lead optimization platforms, and continuing to build on the work of our joint venture with Bayer, Joyn Bio,” said Jason Kelly, CEO and cofounder of Ginkgo Bioworks. “We want agricultural biological development to be as simple and efficient as programming a computer, and by combining Ginkgo’s expertise in biologics early discovery and development with Bayer and Joyn’s platforms, we will be able to offer effective paths to market for Bayer’s Biologics division.”

Bayer Biologicals offer benefits to growers through dependable tailored solutions both in organic and conventional grower operations. In addition to pest management capabilities, biological solutions can be used to improve soil, root, and plant health to provide increased yield and quality in many crops. The enhanced range of choices available to growers with biologicals provide complementary ways of managing pests and diseases together with traditional chemistries - often while boosting crop efficiency - making them a perfect fit in modern integrated agriculture management programs.

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to drive sustainable development and generate a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2021, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 44.1 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

About Ginkgo

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.

About Joyn Bio

Joyn Bio is a joint venture founded by Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks developing probiotics for plants to provide growers with next generation solutions to their biggest challenges. Joyn Bio’s first area of focus will be on engineering microbes that provide cereal crops with their nitrogen needs to reduce agriculture’s reliance on nitrogen fertilizer and its environmental impact. Joyn Bio brings together microbiologists, synthetic biologists, plant scientists, and ecologists at its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts and its plant research facility in West Sacramento, California. For more information, visit www.joynbio.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.