#USA #Boston #Drug Safety #Ginkgo Bioworks #Deep Origin

Ginkgo Bioworks Partners with Deep Origin for Innovative Drug Safety Tools

On December 9, 2025, Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA) announced a significant partnership with Deep Origin, embarking on a groundbreaking 4.5-year project. This initiative is backed by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) under its CATALYST program, focusing on the development of novel tools to better predict drug safety. As part of this collaboration, Ginkgo aims to leverage innovative computational methods alongside cutting-edge biological solutions in drug discovery.

The CATALYST program is led by ARPA-H’s Health Science Futures Mission Office, with Acting Deputy Director Dr. Andy Kilianski at the helm. Together with Deep Origin, Ginkgo will work on the project titled Pharmacological Research and Evaluation through Digital Integration and Clinical Trial Simulation (PREDICTS). This collaborative effort aims to create a revolutionary digital platform designed to enhance the safety evaluation of new drugs and therapeutics.

Ginkgo will utilize its proprietary 'Datapoints' platform, which specializes in perturbation response profiling. This technology is set to generate extensive, high-quality datasets necessary for training advanced AI models. These datasets will include responses related to small molecule drugs as well as genetic perturbations, analyzed across various cell and tissue types. Key readouts from this platform will encompass specific toxicity endpoints relevant to different cell types, DRUG-seq transcriptomics, and cell painting methodologies.

Jesse Dill, Senior Director at Ginkgo Bioworks, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, "Collaborating with the PREDICTS team under Deep Origin’s leadership is a tremendous opportunity. This extraordinary group possesses an ambitious vision, and we are eager to contribute data that characterizes cellular responses to drug treatments, paving the way for safer therapeutic development."

Adding to this sentiment, George Pilitsis, a Director at Ginkgo, noted, "We are incredibly excited and grateful for the chance to work alongside Deep Origin and ARPA-H. Our goal is to redefine drug discovery through the generation of multi-omics data and the application of innovative AI solutions."

Dr. Natalie Ma, Head of Business Development at Deep Origin, highlighted Ginkgo’s unique capabilities, saying, "Ginkgo's high-throughput in vitro platforms enable us to produce data at scale, allowing for detailed modeling across a diverse range of cell types and tissues. This collaboration will enrich our understanding of complex biological responses to therapeutic agents."

This partnership signifies Ginkgo Bioworks' ongoing commitment to fostering innovative collaborations with interdisciplinary teams, capitalizing on its expertise in generating structured datasets that can significantly advance the profiling of drug developability.

For those interested in exploring innovative biological solutions, Ginkgo encourages visits to its official website for more details.

About Ginkgo Bioworks

Ginkgo Bioworks is dedicated to streamlining biological engineering, making it more accessible to all stakeholders involved in healthcare, diagnostics, and manufacturing processes. Ginkgo RD Solutions facilitates customizable R&D packages ranging from protein engineering to nucleic acid design, empowering partners to realize their innovative ambitions in therapeutics and diagnostics. Furthermore, Ginkgo Automation provides laboratory automation systems that enhance the efficiency of scientific experimentation. The company's Datapoints service harnesses advanced automation to create extensive laboratory datasets to boost AI model performance.

Additionally, Ginkgo Biosecurity is at the forefront of developing and implementing state-of-the-art infrastructure and technologies necessary for effectively predicting and tackling various biological threats. Learn more about Ginkgo Bioworks by visiting their website, following their social media channels, or keeping an eye on their ongoing innovative projects.