Inside Ginkgo Bioworks: High-Throughput Biology Meets AI

Ginkgo Bioworks' approach to synthetic biology and data generation for AI-driven drug discovery is explored, featuring insights from John Androsavich, General Manager of Ginkgo Datapoints, and Jason Hocking, VP of Engineering. The discussion centers on Ginkgo's evolution from a synthetic biology foundry to a platform that generates large-scale, multi-modal datasets to train predictive models. A key point is the company's commitment to serving partners by providing data and tools without competing in drug development. The limitations of current public data, particularly in areas like ADME, are addressed, alongside Ginkgo's efforts to reduce data generation costs through automation and miniaturization. The potential of AI to accelerate drug discovery is tempered by concerns about the lag between technological advancements and clinical trial results.