Prokarium and Ginkgo Bioworks announced a partnership to develop a bactofection platform to deliver RNA-based therapeutics. Most gene therapies leverage viral delivery systems. While significant advances have been made to optimize these systems, toxicity and targeting issues in connection with these delivery vehicles may limit their broader utility. Bactofection, the process of transferring genetic material into a mammalian cell via a bacterium, is an alternative gene delivery system that could deliver therapeutic agents to a patient.

In bactofection, the naturally occurring tumor-colonizing characteristics of bacterial species, such as Salmonella, can be modified via genetic manipulation and harnessed to be a targeted delivery vehicle for various therapeutic payloads. In collaboration with Prokarium, Ginkgo will aim to engineer a Salmonella-based bactofection platform for the delivery of RNA payloads to treat cancer patients, building on existing capabilities in RNA therapeutics, viral-based gene therapy and bacterial therapeutics.