Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA) and XpresSpa Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: XSPA)
announced they will continue to support the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) traveler-based SARS-CoV-2 genomic
surveillance program through a new contract awarded August 12,
2022. The partnership is expected to support public health and
biosecurity services totaling approximately $16 million, with an
overall potential to exceed $61 million based on CDC program
options and public health priorities. As COVID-19 sublineages and
other biological threats continue to emerge, the partners plan to
expand the program footprint and incorporate innovative modalities
and offerings, such as monitoring of wastewater from aircraft
lavatories.
Concentric by Ginkgo, the biosecurity and public health
initiative of Ginkgo Bioworks, XpresCheck by XpresSpa Group, a
leading provider of COVID-19 surveillance and diagnostic testing in
U.S. airports, and CDC have partnered since August 2021 to deliver
timely public health data on SARS-CoV-2 variants and their
sublineages, including the first U.S. detections of Omicron BA.2
and BA.3. The expanded program will serve as an early warning
system to detect new or emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, and can
facilitate response to future travel-associated outbreaks and
pandemics. It provides a pulse of COVID-19 cases and the arrival of
variants among international travelers, delivering important data
as the country monitors the global COVID-19 situation.
The joint biosecurity effort, which started as a pilot program
last year, has grown to become the nation’s first large-scale,
sustained travel biosecurity platform, currently operating in four
of the busiest international airports in the U.S.: John F. Kennedy
International Airport (JFK); Newark Liberty International Airport
(EWR); San Francisco International Airport (SFO); and
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). Currently,
international travelers arriving at these airports from select
countries can enroll in the program on a voluntary basis and be
sampled for SARS-CoV-2 for pathogen surveillance purposes. Samples
are then sent to a lab in Concentric’s network—run by an academic
or private partner, such as Eurofins—and positive samples undergo
viral genomic sequencing.
The program is slated to expand its footprint with additional
testing sites in the existing airport locations along with a new
location at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) this
fall, to accommodate a higher volume and diversity of passengers.
Concentric and XpresCheck have also led a research and development
effort on the use of wastewater monitoring from arriving aircraft
as an innovative new tool for travel biosecurity, and plan to work
with CDC to explore deployment at scale as a part of the pathogen
monitoring program.
Dr. Cindy Friedman, Chief of CDC's Travelers' Health Branch,
stated, “This program has clearly demonstrated its potential to
provide early warning for new COVID-19 variants, allowing
researchers and public health officials across the country time to
prepare for targeted response. As many countries ramp down their
pathogen surveillance efforts, we expect the partnership will play
an increasingly important role not just nationally, but globally.
We’re grateful to all the travelers who have participated and done
their part to advance innovation in public health.”
“Through our close partnership with CDC and XpresCheck, we’ve
been able to build an effective biosecurity platform at critical
points of entry to help public health officials mount timely and
targeted responses to COVID-19,” said Matt McKnight, General
Manager, Biosecurity at Ginkgo. “We share a collaborative,
long-term innovation mindset, and we believe this program expansion
will give us the opportunity to develop and scale the capabilities
needed to provide a global weather map of infectious disease and
help manage travel-associated outbreaks and pandemics in the years
to come. Public-private partnerships like this help disrupt the
panic-neglect cycle that holds us back from achieving accessible
and sustainable biosecurity for everyone.”
“Building upon the foundation we previously established amidst
the height of the pandemic, the evolution of this program is
biosurveillance at scale, and we believe will deliver a further
fortified frontline defense to the identification of and protection
against COVID-19,” stated Ezra Ernst, Chief Executive Officer of
XpresCheck. “Through the renewed investment in this initiative, we
and our partners are striving to set a standard for traveler
biosecurity. With our understanding of travelers during their
journey, alongside the expertise of CDC and Concentric, we’re
bringing peace of mind to the public and providing public health
officials with key insights to track the spread of disease."
About Ginkgo BioworksGinkgo 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 XpresSpa Group,
Inc.XpresSpa Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: XSPA) is a leading
global health and wellness holding company operating four brands:
XpresCheck®, XpresSpa®, Treat™ and HyperPointe.
- XpresSpa is a leading airport
retailer of wellness services and related products, with 26
locations in 13 airports globally.
- Treat is a travel health and
wellness brand that is providing on-demand access to healthcare
through technology and personalized services, including two
domestic airport locations.
- XpresCheck is a leading provider of
Covid-19 screening and diagnostic testing with 15 locations in 12
domestic airports. XpresCheck is also partnered with CDC and
Concentric by Ginkgo, conducting biosurveillance monitoring in its
airport locations to identify existing and new SARS-CoV-2
variants.
- HyperPointe is a leading digital
healthcare and data analytics relationship company serving the
global healthcare industry.
To learn more about XpresCheck, visit: www.XpresCheck.comTo
learn more about XpresSpa, visit www.XpresSpa.comTo learn more
about Treat, visit: www.Treat.comTo learn more about HyperPointe,
visit: www.HyperPointe.com
Twitter: @xprescheck and Instagram: @realxprescheckTwitter:
@XpresSpa and Instagram: @XpresSpaTwitter: @Treat_Care and
Instagram: @treat_care
Forward-Looking Statements of Ginkgo
Bioworks
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including
statements regarding the potential success of the partnership and
Ginkgo's biosecurity platform. These forward-looking statements
generally are identified by the words "believe," "can," "project,"
"potential," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend,"
"strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should,"
"will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result,"
and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are
predictions, projections and other statements about future events
that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a
result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could
cause actual future events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not
limited to: (i) the effect of Ginkgo's business combination with
Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp. ("Soaring Eagle") on Ginkgo's
business relationships, performance, and business generally, (ii)
risks that the business combination disrupts current plans of
Ginkgo and potential difficulties in Ginkgo's employee retention,
(iii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted
against Ginkgo related to its business combination with Soaring
Eagle, (iv) volatility in the price of Ginkgo's securities now that
it is a public company due to a variety of factors, including
changes in the competitive and highly regulated industries in which
Ginkgo operates and plans to operate, variations in performance
across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting
Ginkgo's business and changes in the combined capital structure,
(v) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other
expectations after the completion of the business combination, and
identify and realize additional opportunities, (vi) the risk of
downturns in demand for products using synthetic biology, (vii) the
unpredictability of the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
demand for COVID-19 testing and the commercial viability of our
COVID-19 testing business, (viii) changes to the biosecurity
industry, including due to advancements in technology, emerging
competition and evolution in industry demands, standards and
regulations, and (ix) our ability to close and realize the expected
benefits of pending merger and acquisition transactions. The
foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully
consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and
uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of Ginkgo's
quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on May 16, 2022 and other documents
filed by Ginkgo from time to time with the SEC. These filings
identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual events and results to differ materially from
those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are
cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements,
and Ginkgo assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or
revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise. Ginkgo does not give any
assurance that it will achieve its expectations.
Forward-Looking Statements of XpresSpa
Group, Inc. This press release may contain
"forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. These include statements preceded by,
followed by or that otherwise include the words "believes,"
"expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "projects," "intends,"
"should," "seeks," "future," "continue," or the negative of such
terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements
relating to expectations about future results or events are based
upon information available to XpresSpa Group as of today's date and
are not guarantees of the future performance of the Company, and
actual results may vary materially from the results and
expectations discussed. Additional information concerning these and
other risks is contained in XpresSpa Group’s Annual Report on Form
10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form
8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. All
subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning
XpresSpa Group, or other matters and attributable to XpresSpa Group
or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their
entirety by the cautionary statements above. XpresSpa Group does
not undertake any obligation to publicly update any of these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that
may arise after the date hereof.
Ginkgo Bioworks Contacts:
Media:
press@ginkgobioworks.com
Investor Relations:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com
XpresSpa Group Contacts:
Investor Relations
Joseph Calabrese
MWW
ir@xpresspagroup.com
Media
Heather Tidwell
MWW
htidwell@mww.com
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