Ginkgo Bioworks Partners with Carnegie-Mellon University to Develop Innovative New Cancer Screening Approach

Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA) announced a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University on an ARPA-H award for the POSEIDON program (Platform Optimizing SynBio for Early Intervention and Detection in Oncology) dated December 22, 2025.

Rhea-AI Summary

Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA) announced a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University on an ARPA-H award for the POSEIDON program (Platform Optimizing SynBio for Early Intervention and Detection in Oncology) dated December 22, 2025. Ginkgo will serve as Commercial Partner while CMU leads the project under principal investigator Rebecca Taylor.

The program aims to develop an orally administered pill with engineered tumor-targeting sensors plus a user-friendly at-home urine screening device. The multidisciplinary team includes researchers from University of Pittsburgh, UMass Amherst, KU Leuven, and corporate partners Velentium Medical, Clinical Research Strategies, and Platypus Bio.

Positive

• ARPA-H award secured for POSEIDON program
• Ginkgo named Commercial Partner
• Orally administered pill with tumor-targeting sensors planned
• At-home urine screening device under development
• Multidisciplinary team with CMU, Pittsburgh, UMass Amherst, KU Leuven

Negative

• None.

Argus Dec 22 session

+8.52% close to close Open Argus

Details

News Market Reaction – DNA

On Dec 22, the day this news came out, DNA closed 8.52% above the previous close.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus for the Dec 22 session.

Key Figures

Q3 2025 total revenue: $39M Q3 2025 GAAP net loss: $81M Cash & securities: $462M +5 more

Q3 2025 total revenue

$39M

Third quarter 2025, down 56% year-over-year

Q3 2025 GAAP net loss

$81M

Third quarter 2025 results

Cash & securities

$462M

Balance as of September 30, 2025

2025 revenue guidance

$167–$187M

Full-year 2025 total revenue range reaffirmed

BARDA project value

$22.2M

BARDA award value mentioned in Q3 2025 highlights

DOE phenotyping contract

$47M

Four-year contract value cap for HTP-APP platform

424B5 offering size

$100M

Aggregate offering price for Class A common stock

Pre-news share price

$8.10

Price before this partnership announcement, down 1.7% on the day

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Dec 17

5 events

1. Dec 17

   Manufacturing collaboration

   24h Move

   -0.2%

   Collaboration with Agricen to optimize fermentation for soil amendment microbes.

2. Dec 09

   ARPA-H partnership

   24h Move

   +1.7%

   Deep Origin-led ARPA-H CATALYST project using Datapoints for drug safety data.

3. Dec 05

   Government contract win

   24h Move

   +0.4%

   Up to $47M DOE contract for high-throughput phenotyping platform with PNNL.

4. Dec 03

   ARPA-H collaboration

   24h Move

   +4.9%

   Participation in ARPA-H EMBODY program for in vivo cell and gene therapy.

5. Nov 06

   Q3 earnings

   24h Move

   -2.5%

   Q3 2025 revenue decline, GAAP net loss and reaffirmed full-year guidance.

24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.

Key Terms

synthetic biology, nucleic acid nanotechnology, tumor-targeting sensors, ARPA-H, +1 more

5 terms

synthetic biology medical

"Combining recent advancements in synthetic biology with cutting-edge detection technology"

Synthetic biology is the design and construction of new or modified living systems—like reprogramming cells or microbes—to perform useful tasks such as making materials, medicines, or fuels. For investors it signals a platform technology with potential for high growth and disruption, similar to how software transformed industries: early breakthroughs can create new markets, long-term revenue streams, and also carry technical, regulatory, and ethical risks that affect valuation and timing.

nucleic acid nanotechnology medical

"Using a combination of synthetic biology and nucleic acid nanotechnology, the pill's..."

Designing and building tiny structures and machines out of DNA or RNA that self-assemble and act like programmable building blocks — think LEGO at the molecular scale. Investors care because these designer molecules can enable more precise drug delivery, highly sensitive diagnostics, and novel materials, creating new revenue streams and intellectual property while potentially lowering development costs and improving clinical outcomes.

tumor-targeting sensors medical

"an orally administered pill containing specially engineered, tumor-targeting sensors"

Tumor-targeting sensors are tools—either tiny molecules, particles or devices—designed to find and signal the presence of cancer cells or tumor-specific signals in the body. They matter to investors because they can improve early detection, guide treatments to the right patients, and reduce side effects, much like a precise metal detector that finds a needle in a haystack, which can make diagnostic and therapeutic products more effective and commercially valuable.

ARPA-H regulatory

"for an award by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) for its POSEIDON program"

ARPA-H is a U.S. government agency that funds bold, high-risk scientific projects aimed at rapid advances in health and medicine; think of it as a government venture-capital arm for breakthrough biomedical research. For investors, ARPA-H matters because its grants and endorsements can reduce technical risk, speed commercialization of new technologies, and signal where public funding and regulatory attention may create future market opportunities.

diagnostics medical

"transformative new diagnostics to the market"

Medical diagnostics are tests, tools, and systems that detect, measure, or monitor health conditions—like lab assays, imaging scans, or portable devices that tell whether someone has a disease or how well a treatment is working. For investors, diagnostics matter because they drive recurring revenue, influence healthcare decisions and treatment markets, and can make therapies more or less valuable; think of them as the sensors that guide where money and care get directed.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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BOSTON, Dec. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA) today 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, tumor-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, tumor-targeting sensors aim to detect tumor-specific conditions, such as low oxygen, acidity, and lactate—hallmarks of cancer. The sensors will then release reporters to indicate the presence of a tumor 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 tumors 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.

Visit our website to learn more about how you can bring innovative biological solutions to life.

About Ginkgo Bioworks

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. Ginkgo Automation sells modular, integrated laboratory automation so scientists can spend their days planning and analyzing experiments rather than pipetting in the lab. Ginkgo Datapoints uses Ginkgo's in-house automation to generate the large lab data sets to power your AI models. Ginkgo Biosecurity is building and deploying the next-generation infrastructure and technologies that global leaders need to predict, detect, and respond to a wide variety of biological threats. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com and ginkgobiosecurity.com, read our blog, or follow us on social media channels such as X (@Ginkgo and @Ginkgo_Biosec), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks), or LinkedIn.

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 capabilities and potential success of the partnership and Ginkgo's cell programming 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) our ability to realize near-term and long-term cost savings associated with our site consolidation plans, including the ability to terminate leases or find sub-lease tenants for unused facilities, (ii) volatility in the price of Ginkgo's securities 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, and changes in laws and regulations affecting Ginkgo's business, (iii) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and to identify and realize additional business opportunities, including with respect to our solutions and tools offerings, (iv) the risk of downturns in demand for products using synthetic biology, (v) the uncertainty regarding the demand for passive monitoring programs and biosecurity services, (vi) changes to the biosecurity industry, including due to advancements in technology, emerging competition and evolution in industry demands, standards and regulations, (vii) the outcome of any pending or potential legal proceedings against Ginkgo, (viii) our ability to realize the expected benefits from and the success of our Foundry platform programs and Codebase assets, (ix) our ability to successfully develop engineered cells, bioprocesses, data packages or other deliverables, (x) the product development, production or manufacturing success of our customers, (xi) our exposure to the volatility and liquidity risks inherent in holding equity interests in other operating companies and other non-cash consideration we may receive for our services, (xii) the potential negative impact on our business of our restructuring or the failure to realize the anticipated savings associated therewith and (xiii) the uncertainty regarding government budgetary priorities and funding allocated to government agencies. 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 annual report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 25, 2025 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.

GINKGO BIOWORKS INVESTOR CONTACT:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com

GINKGO BIOWORKS MEDIA CONTACT:
press@ginkgobioworks.com

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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

What did Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA) announce on December 22, 2025?

Ginkgo announced a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University on an ARPA-H award for the POSEIDON cancer-detection program.

What role will Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA) play in the POSEIDON program?

Ginkgo will serve as the program's Commercial Partner, contributing cell and enzyme engineering expertise.

What technologies will the POSEIDON program develop under Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA)?

The program plans an orally administered pill with engineered tumor-targeting sensors and an at-home urine screening device.

Who is leading the POSEIDON project announced with Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA)?

Rebecca Taylor, professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, is the principal investigator leading the project.

Which academic and corporate partners are included in the POSEIDON team with Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA)?

Partners named include University of Pittsburgh, UMass Amherst, KU Leuven, Velentium Medical, Clinical Research Strategies, and Platypus Bio.

Will the POSEIDON program's pill provide tissue-origin information for tumors in testing by Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA)?

The program aims to use sensors that detect tumor-specific conditions and release reporters to indicate tumor presence and tissue of origin via urine.