Good Day BIO: Yes, biomanufacturing at scale is possible

Ending the week with what experts said about biomanufacturing and another look at why we need to address AMR. (708 words, 3 minutes, 32 seconds)

Yes, biomanufacturing at scale is possible

Could synthetic biology be the answer to climate change? Gingko Bioworks hosted an event yesterday to explore this question and provide advice to entrepreneurs who want to play a role in the climate solution.

To catch you up: Gingko Bioworks (BIO member!) “prints” and “programs” DNA for a variety of applications—which could transform our economy and society.

But how do you know you have a viable business? Ask whether you “can you do it at scale,” at a price that can compete with fossil fuels, said Sarah Sclarsic, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Voyager Venture, during yesterday’s event. 

We’re seeing “biomanufacturing can work at scale and very robustly,” said Nelson Barton, SVP R&D at Genomatica, the BIO member using synbio to produce sustainable, plant-based materials for common items. (Speakers echoed this sentiment throughout the event.) 

There has been a “lack of understanding about how much we use every day comes from petroleum,” continued Barton—but consumers are now telling brands they don’t want items manufactured with petroleum if they don’t have to be.

It used to be that you could hit business targets, or be sustainable, said Gingko Program Director Cynthia Collins. But the two goals are not so far apart anymore. 

“Markets are evolving in a way that’s really transformative and powerful,” noted Voyager Venture’s Sclarsic. Expect “a lot of movement over the next decade” including advances in tax credits and carbon prices, which will tell entrepreneurs “there’s a real business to be made here—potentially a trillion-dollar business.” 

The big picture: We don’t have time to “wait for the big thing,” said Gaurab Chakrabarti, Co-Founder and CEO of Solugen.“What looks incremental can become very big, so just start now.”

If we don’t address AMR, we ‘run a sizable risk of death’

While the world has been grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, another dangerous “silent” pandemic is lurking: antimicrobial resistance.  

ICYMI: Antimicrobial resistance directly caused at least 1.27 million deaths in 2019—but as a BIO report released last week explained, the pipeline is “insufficient” to meet the growing threat, with just one new antibacterial drug for a new target approved in 35 years and antibiotic development receiving billions less in investment than oncology, as one example. 

“There will come a time when, if we don’t solve this problem, we will run a sizable risk of death” from common surgeries and procedures, said Greg Frank, Director of Global Public Policy at Merck, during a panel at last week’s BIO CEO and Investor Conference.

“We need to address the issue of brain drain in the industry,” said Henry Skinner, CEO of the AMR Action Fund. “Every company that shutters its doors or closes their research programs represents that much more brainpower that we have lost in the fight against AMR.”

“Traditional market dynamics don’t apply to antimicrobials,” Emily Wheeler, BIO’s Director of Infectious Disease Policy, told Endpoints News. “Also, we find that antimicrobials are often undervalued for the benefits that they bring to patients and to society, and therefore that suppresses the return that a company is able to make on the product as well. So really taken together—these challenges create a market with little to no return on investment for these specific antimicrobial medicines.”

One positive: there is consensus around the need to address AMR, noted Frank. “Civil society, medical groups, and patient groups have all aligned around, and recognized that, there are solutions.”  

A few possibilities: The PASTEUR Act and The DISARM Act could help address the unique market challenges for novel antimicrobials—learn more.

Read More: The full report is available here, and you can read additional coverage in Bloomberg Law and Fierce Biotech.

Did you miss it?Catch up on the BIO CEO and Investor Conference.

Register Now: Breaking New Ground: Innovations in Alzheimer’s Research, hosted by The Hill and sponsored by Eli Lilly, will explore the challenges and inequities and how policies can prioritize research, awareness, detection and treatment. Click here to learn more and register for the March 2 event.

President Biden’s Friday:After announcing new sanctions on Russia yesterday, he’s meeting with NATO this morning to discuss Ukraine. Meanwhile, the CDC is expected to deliver updated guidance on COVID-19 restrictions today, per CNN. 

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: Back to Washington next week. Enjoy the weekend.