Twist Bioscience Exercises Option to Purchase Custom Designed Antibody Library and Optimization Software

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Twist Bioscience (Nasdaq: TWST), a company enabling customers to succeed through its offering of high-quality synthetic DNA using its silicon platform, today announced that it will exercise its option to purchase all rights to a G-coupled protein receptor (GPCR) library and its proprietary Twist Antibody Optimization (TAO) software, both developed in collaboration with Distributed Bio.

“We began working with Distributed Bio in 2016, before the existence of our Twist Biopharma division, and have been using the GPCR library and antibody optimization software together with our silicon-based DNA synthesis platform successfully for the last two years,” said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Twist. “Both proprietary tools integrate incredibly well with our ability to write synthetic DNA oligo pools at scale, creating precision antibody libraries, and optimizing antibody therapeutics. Neither of these tools would be possible without the use of Twist’s silicon DNA writing oligo pool technology.”

The GPCR library and the antibody optimization software were originally developed as part of a license and collaboration agreement between Twist Bioscience and Distributed Bio signed in 2016. In 2021, Twist exercised its option to purchase all rights to the Antibody Optimization Software and the GPCR-Targeting Antibody Library. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Building on the GPCR library, Twist Biopharma generated a wide range of precision antibody discovery libraries now encompassed in its “Library of Libraries.” The “Library of Libraries” contains an incredibly robust set of antibody libraries that use different antibody fragment scaffolds as well as different sources of fully human antibody sequences. Each library within the larger “Library of Libraries” contains more than 10 billion antibodies, providing robust and differentiated antibodies for antibody discovery. Once binding antibodies are identified from the Library of Libraries or other sources, Twist Biopharma utilizes the TAO software and its custom library capacity to further optimize leads for improved pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, binding and other properties. Unlike other optimization platforms, TAO does not require that the initial input leads are derived from the Twist Biopharma libraries.

About Twist Bioscience Corporation

Twist Bioscience is a leading and rapidly growing synthetic biology and genomics 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.

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This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained herein, including without limitation, are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that may cause Twist Bioscience’s actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risks and uncertainties of the ability to attract new customers and retain and grow sales from existing customers; risks and uncertainties of rapidly changing technologies and extensive competition in synthetic biology could make the products Twist Bioscience is developing obsolete or non-competitive; uncertainties of the retention of a significant customer; risks of third party claims alleging infringement of patents and proprietary rights or seeking to invalidate Twist Bioscience’s patents or proprietary rights; and the risk that Twist Bioscience’s proprietary rights may be insufficient to protect its technologies. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to Twist Bioscience’s business in general, see Twist Bioscience’s risk factors set forth in Twist Bioscience’s Quarterly Report Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 9, 2021 and subsequent filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Twist Bioscience specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.