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Ginkgo Bioworks, a company builds the tools that make biology easier to engineer for everyone, announced its partnership with Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) for an award by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) for its POSEIDON program (Platform Optimizing SynBio for Early Intervention and Detection in Oncology). With Ginkgo Bioworks serving as the Commercial Partner, the project will also be led by Rebecca Taylor (principal investigator), professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
Combining recent advancements in synthetic biology with cutting-edge detection technology, the team expects to develop both a highly innovative orally administered pill containing specially engineered, tumour-targeting sensors and a user-friendly cancer screening device designed for at-home testing. As part of this team, Ginkgo plans to apply its cell and enzyme engineering expertise to support development of these new diagnostic tools.
Using a combination of synthetic biology and nucleic acid nanotechnology, the pill's specially engineered, tumour-targeting sensors aim to detect tumour-specific conditions, such as low oxygen, acidity, and lactate—hallmarks of cancer. The sensors will then release reporters to indicate the presence of a tumour and its specific tissue of origin. Synthetic reporters will then be excreted into urine to collect the results.
"Our dual-function approach is designed to provide an unprecedented level of precision, effectively illuminating hidden tumours from within the body, which then signals the presence of disease through a simple urine test," explained Taylor. "This is a scientific leap forward that we believe will profoundly change how we approach early cancer diagnostics."
"We are truly excited to get to support this effort," said Jesse Dill, Government BD Lead at Ginkgo Bioworks. "This type of interdisciplinary teaming, and ambitious vision, are essential for bringing transformative new diagnostics to the market. We hope that patients and doctors will be empowered to make well-informed decisions, to the benefit of all."
In addition to Carnegie Mellon researchers, the multidisciplinary project team includes academic experts from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and KU Leuven, as well as corporate partners at Ginkgo Bioworks, Velentium Medical, Clinical Research Strategies, and Platypus Bio.
Ginkgo Bioworks builds the tools that make biology easier to engineer for everyone. Ginkgo R&D Solutions delivers customizable R&D packages—such as protein engineering, nucleic acid design, and cell-free systems—giving partners a comprehensive way to accelerate innovation across therapeutics, diagnostics, & manufacturing.
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