Hi ,

We are gearing up for SynBioBeta 2024, May 6-9 in San Jose (only 103 days away!) and I am thrilled to bring you some exciting updates! 

Me with Dan Voicu from McGill University and friends at SynBioBeta last year.

New for 2024!

The Startup Pavilion is a new destination within the exhibit hall that provides a dedicated space for talking with early-stage innovators and exploring cutting-edge technologies. This inclusive space features startups in various phases of development and fosters networking and collaboration. If you are a startup and want to exhibit in this space, contact Anissa Cooke for more details.

Thank you to our new sponsors:

• T&J Bioengineering Co. Ltd. is partnering with TJXBIO to bring its CloudReady high-throughput bioreactor platform to the international market.

• P&G was founded more than 185 years ago as a soap and candle company. Today, they’re one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies and home to iconic, trusted brands.

• Ansa Biotechnologies is developing a way to synthesize DNA to accelerate innovation in medicine, agriculture, and industrial biotechnology.

• Ribbon Biolabs revolutionary technology for the fast and efficient automated synthesis of DNA is here to enable the new wave of biotechnological innovation.

• Black & Veatch is a global engineering, procurement, consulting, and construction company specializing in infrastructure development.

Speakers include:

Insights (Exclusive Content):

• Synthetic Biology and Materials Science Working Together to Redefine Entire Industries: A deep dive into how synthetic biology is disrupting the world of materials.

• How is the Current Synbio Startup Climate Affecting Innovation in the Global South? Despite the dominance of synbio companies in traditional hubs like Boston, the Bay Area, and the UK, emerging firms in Latin America and Southeast Asia are making a global impact—how does founding in the global south benefit them, and are they equally affected by the current investment climate?

Industry News:

• From Ice to Life: The Revolutionary Cryo-EM View of an RNA Machine. Researchers unveil the first atomic structure of an RNA replicase using cryo-EM, shedding light on the molecular machinery that might have kick-started life on Earth.

• Pioneering CRISPR Off-Switches for Genetic Engineering: Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School and Cornell University have developed pioneering anti-CRISPR proteins, offering new control over CRISPR-Cas3 gene editing technologies.

• 'pAblo·pCasso' Gives CRISPR Technology a Fresh Coat of Paint: This latest addition to the CRISPR-Cas toolkit is rewriting the rules of genetic engineering, promising reversible edits and expanded editing capabilities for improved bioproduction.

• Breaking the Mold: Embracing Uncertainty for Enhanced Bio-Innovation: While the adage "Failing to plan is planning to fail" remains all too true, researchers suggest that shifting away from inflexible design could be the key to pioneering scientific progress.

• Sometimes sparks of innovation require taking the path less well trodden. Credit: Thomas Gorochowski.

Other news:

• ZymoChem Secures $21M Series A Funding Round: ZymoChem is redesigning manufacturing with products that do not come from fossil fuels, require carbon-intensive production, or persist for hundreds of years. (Press release)

• Concentric by Ginkgo and Illumina collaborate to deploy biosurveillance technologies around the world. The companies plan to join forces to set up pathogen monitoring programs utilizing Illumina technology across Concentric's global network. (Press release)

• Azitra, Inc. Strengthens Intellectual Property Portfolio with Newly Granted Patent in the US: Azitra is developing live biotherapeutic product candidates to treat ichthyosis vulgaris, a disease caused by missing or abnormal filaggrin levels. (Press release)

• ERS Genomics and StemSight sign CRISPR/Cas9 license agreement: The license agreement provides StemSight access to CRISPR/Cas9 technology to be applied in the development of cell therapies for corneal blindness. (Press release)

• UK: Multus and New Wave Biotech Merge in AI Partnership to Lower the Costs of Cultivated Meat. Multus, a UK growth media innovator for cultivated meat, and London-based New Wave Biotech, a leader in AI bioprocess optimization software, are joining forces to lower the costs of cultivated meat using AI. (Vegconomist)

• Lonza plots more than 200 layoffs at clinical manufacturing site in California: Just a few months after Lonza unveiled hundreds of new hires, the Swiss CDMO juggernaut is telegraphing nearly as many layoffs in California. (Fierce Pharma)

• Register now for the webinar “How the EU exports its crop protection policies to the developing world” on January 25. Learn how the EU’s crop protection policies impact growers worldwide and their significant impact on the developing world.

• Hibernation research could lead to new weight loss medicines — could it also help astronauts in space? NASA has given a grant to a project from Fauna Bio and the University of Colorado to figure out how to send a hibernating squirrel to space. 

Regards,
John

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John Cumbers

CEO, SynBioBeta

Who's hiring?

• Executive Assistant to Founder & CEO at SynBioBeta (Remote)

• Senior Director, RNA Therapeutics at Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. (Boston, MA)

• Principal Associate Scientist - RNA at Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. (Boston, MA)

• Manufacturing Associate - Gene Production at Twist Bioscience (Wilsonville, OR)

• Research Associate II, Process Development at Twist Bioscience (South San Francisco, CA)