Twist Bioscience Enhances DNA Storage Capabilities Through Agreement With Imagene SA

Agreement Enables Twist to Securely Store DNA With Digital Data Encoded

July 25, 2019 08:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST), a company enabling customers to succeed through its offering of high-quality synthetic DNA using its silicon platform, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Imagene SA, where Imagene will provide Twist with an encapsulation service to store DNA through its DNAshell® technology to store digital data encoded in DNA for thousands of years.“This agreement with Imagene provides the next step in the continuum on DNA digital data storage and fits within our strategy to cover all aspects of the process efficiently to enable the development of DNA as a digital storage medium,” commented Emily Leproust, Ph.D., CEO of Twist Bioscience. “We believe the DNAshell® technology allows us to encapsulate the DNA-stored digital data securely, protecting it for eternity from any elements including radiation, and eliminating the need for continued copying of digital data due to degradation experienced in other forms of storage today.”“Twist Bioscience, through its silicon platform, has demonstrated the ability to store large amounts of data on DNA, providing a high density, long-term solution to digital data storage, and we are excited to see them grow this product offering,” said Sophie Tuffet, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Imagene. “We are happy to be partnering with Twist and providing them with our disruptive DNAshell® technology to safely store DNA with digital data encoded.”About Imagene’s DNAshell® technologyDNAshell® technology enables the confinement of desiccated DNA molecules under an anoxic and anhydrous inert atmosphere inside airtight, laser-engraved, stainless steel minicapsules. In the absence of the alteration factors water, oxygen, and light, natural or synthetic DNA can be stored at room temperature for a nearly limitless period of time. DNAshell® is a robust, standalone storage platform enabling the safe and stable storage and distribution of material with zero ongoing energy costs. The high DNA storage capacity of these capsules allows the storage of enormous amounts of data in a small volume. Imagene’s DNAshell® technology has been successfully extended to the preservation of RNA, blood, and microorganisms for applications in biobanking and molecular diagnostics. Imagene is both a service provider and instrumentation supplier.For more information, please email contact@imagene.eu or visit www.imagene.eu.About Twist Bioscience CorporationTwist Bioscience is a leading and rapidly growing synthetic biology company that has developed a disruptive DNA synthesis platform to industrialize the engineering of biology. The core of the platform is a proprietary technology that pioneers a new method of manufacturing synthetic DNA by “writing” DNA on a silicon chip. Twist is leveraging its unique technology to manufacture a broad range of synthetic DNA-based products, including synthetic genes, tools for next-generation sequencing (NGS) preparation, and antibody libraries for drug discovery and development. Twist is also pursuing longer-term opportunities in digital data storage in DNA and biologics drug discovery. Twist makes products for use across many industries including healthcare, industrial chemicals, agriculture and academic research.Follow us on Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube

Contacts

Investor Contact:Argot PartnersMaeve Conneighton212-600-1902maeve@argotpartners.comMedia Contact:Angela Bitting925-202-6211media@twistbioscience.comSource: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190725005205/en/Twist-Bioscience-Enhances-DNA-Storage-Capabilities-Agreement