By Joana L. Rodrigues, EUSynBioS Steering Committee

In July 2023, ATG SynBio Spain, the Spanish SynBio association, organized the II International Congress in Synthetic Biology, STEAM Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation. I had the opportunity to attend and share the work we do at EUSynBioS and also to present the SynBio research that I do at Centre of Biological Engineering (University of Minho). 

The conference was held in the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park: what an incredible view and venue! I don’t know if it was the view of the beach on the other side of the street or the idea of two full days of SynBio with many interesting talks and very renowned speakers, but the truth is that the good mood and amazing energy were always present throughout the conference. But why would it be any different? The lineup of speakers was truly remarkable and very focused in SynBio translation! We had the privilege of listening from academia visionaries, industry and venture, sharing their aspirations to add value to the SynBio ecosystem. It was such an awesome networking opportunity for all!

The first day kicked off with Nate Tedford, Head of Foundry at Ginkgo Bioworks that talked about “How to build a biofoundry” and showed us some of Ginkgo state of the art biofoundries and automated labs that most of us can only dream of. 

Next, we had Morgan Richards, Head of Communications Growth Group at ValleyDAO, presenting “A new model for science”. During his talk, Morgan made us reflect on the problems of science and academia, such as lack of reproducibility, knowledge gatekeeping, decline of scientific breakthroughs, peer-review, publish or perish, and biased funding. We can all relate, right? I can relate so much to this that I joined the ValleyDAO community several months ago. Morgan also showed the audience how ValleyDAO, built upon a decentralized science model and a blockchain-based community, can foster innovation and drive advancements in SynBio.

Then, EUSynBioS advisor Marc Güell shared some insights on how to create a successful SynBio spin-out during his “Entrepreneurship in SynBio” talk. Some of the latest SynBio applications in therapeutics including vaccine production and cancer treatment were also discussed. Marc is a tenure track professor at Pompeu Fabra University and the cofounder of Integra Therapeutics located at Barcelona Biomedical Research Park. 

Before the coffee break, Fran Antequera, President of ATG SynBio Spain, told us how the Spanish SynBio association is helping to promote SynBio and STEAM entrepreneurship in Spain. The association, whose name is derived from the translation start codon, originated after the first Málaga team participated in iGEM 2020. Since then, they have been spreading SynBio, connecting stakeholders and organizing activities to help the Spanish community grow. 

The morning continued with the talk “Community in Life Sciences” of Gijs Jochem, General Manager at Promega Biotech Ibérica, the conference main sponsor. Promega supports the Spanish SynBio ecosystem not only with a portfolio of innovative high-value products for life-sciences research and industry, but also by empowering students and researchers through their academic programs and advanced scientific training.

Next, another giant talk by Bayer. Concepción Novillo, Scientific Affairs Manager, Seed & Traits at Bayer Crop Science, presented “State of the art agriculture and new genomic techniques” and showed us how innovation in crop production allowed us to produce more with less in a more sustainable manner. Bayer is working in the future of agriculture which is super exciting but has many challenges. Although several genome editing techniques have emerged in the last decades, allowing to introduce precise and targeted changes in the plant DNA, the implementation of these techniques faces great challenges in Europe due to the current regulatory framework blocking the scientific progress. 

After all these phenomenal talks followed a panel discussion on “SynBio potential and ethic” moderated by Daniel Dominguez Gomez from iGEM. Panelists included Marc Güell, Nate Tedford (Ginkgo Bioworks), Sara Holland (Potter Clarckson), Daniela Bezdan (Yuri) and Ángel Goñi-Moreno (Technical University of Madrid). Topics such as the importance of networking, converting science to money, scientists training to be entrepreneurs and investment in improving scientific communication were approached. It was such a full morning but it didn’t matter as the talks and discussions were so captivating.

After lunch José Manuel Baena, CEO of REGEMAT 3D, the first Spanish company focused in 3D printing of biomedical devices, talked about “Venture builder from lab to market”. As an entrepreneur, he is involved in many initiatives that support tech entrepreneurs to create and grow their projects globally. After this presentation José Manuel Baena joined Gils Jochems (Promega), Paul Freemont (SynbiCITE), Nadège Grabowski (Zaz Ventures, Da Vinci Labs) in the panel discussion “ATG Building the Spanish Ecosystem” moderated by Fran Antequera (ATG SynBio Spain). What is needed to build the Spanish SynBio ecosystem? Fran answer’s focused on the importance to create synergies and involve all the stakeholders, and of course be involved in educating not only students but also the population on SynBio opportunities to improve the world. But in the end, the message was clear, ATG is on the right path and should keep pushing for more!

After participating in the panel discussion, Paul Freemont (co-director of SynbiCITE - Imperial College of London) gave a talk entitled “The London Biofoundry’s Path to Success”. London Biofoundry specialized in the design, engineering and functional characterization of synthetic DNA and organisms for academics and industrial clients. As Nate Tedford talk, this talk was very focused on how biofoundries accelerate the SynBio design-build-test-learn cycle and the importance of automation in all this. 

The hot topic open science was also discussed in this conference. Joana Magalhães, expert in citizen science and science communication and a researcher at Science for Change, gave a talk on “Open science: growing together with and for communities”. Joana reinforced the importance of generation of open data and its impact on social innovation and society.

Afterwards, we had Julia Gil Martin fantastic talk on “Sustainable and Ethical Innovation in FoodTech”. Julia is Global Programme Manager & Scientific Lead at ProVeg Incubator and gave several examples on how SynBio is changing the current food system and focused on the relevance of ethical and sustainable innovation in FoodTech. She also demonstrated how ProVeg Incubator is supporting pioneering startups focused on disruptive alternatives to animal-based products and services. 

After Julia’s talk, she joined Camila Gaspar Quinonez (iGEM Startups), Concepción Novillo (Bayer), Nana Bit-Avragim (EIT Health) and the moderator Begoña de Frutos Martínez (ATG SynBio Spain) on a woman only panel entitled “One Health”. On this panel, topics such as transgenic agriculture, risks of plastics for the environment and health, and AI impact on healthcare and personalized medicine were addressed. The role of animal-free foods to improve societal health was also highlighted. What a full day! 

The second conference day started discussing fundraising in SynBio. Mark Bünger, CTO from Futurity Systems, gave a talk on “Investing in SynBio” and provided several tools and tips for researchers starting the entrepreneurship path. Joining a start-up to learn from experienced entrepreneurs before creating your own was highly encouraged!

After fundraising the mindset switched to IP with Sara Holland talk on “Advisoring SynBio & Biotech startups with the most fabulous IP”. Sara, SynBio IP advisor and Partner at Potter Clarkson IP law firm, discussed several options for IP protection and the importance of doing it at an early stage, as early mistakes can have long term consequences. However, patenting might not always be the best option, but in that case, it is important to be even more careful on what is made public (e.g., iGEM Wiki pages constitute prior art). 

Then, we stepped into iGEM world. Dorothy Zhang, iGEM Vice-President, explained “What is iGEM?”, showed its path in the last 20 years, and focused on what is expected next November in Paris in the 2023 Grand Jamboree. This year, around 400 teams and 5000 attendees are anticipated! And if all goes right one will be me, I will be there judging for the first time! After Dorothy presentation, Alya Masoud, head of iGEM Venture Foundry, also gave an interesting talk on “Entrepreneurship and iGEM Startups”. She showed us how iGEM Startups help jumpstart the entrepreneurial journey. It was impressive how many startups were born in iGEM competition! The conference also had two small iGEM pitch competitions in parallel sessions where some 2023 teams and iGEM startups had the opportunity to present their projects or companies, respectively. It was incredible to see how they are using SynBio to make a difference in our world! 

The conference continued with Nadège Grabowski from Zaz Ventures and Da Vinci Labs that gave a talk “Unveiling Da Vinci Labs: A path to revolutionary innovation in climate solutions!”. She showed how Da Vinci Labs are using AI, SynBio and quantum computing to tackle climate changes. 

Finally, in the end of the morning session, the last panel of the conference “Unlocking the Funding Frontier: Navigating Success for SynBio Startups and Spin-offs”. The panel was moderated by Morgan Richards (ValleyDAO) that had interesting discussions with Mark Bünger (Futurity Systems), Roger Cabezas (CERCA), Cecilia Manduca (Talis Capital) and Saurabh Tak (Circulate Capital) on the most effective fundraising and tech transfer strategies in Europe. 

After lunch I had the opportunity to present EUSynBioS work and goals in a dedicated session. Last society developments and our new website were highlighted. Additionally, I presented my research work on SynBio approaches for fine chemicals production.

They were two packed days filled with mind-blowing insights and networking opportunities. We all left with the certainty that SynBio is the future and that we are in the right field. As a Steering Committee member of EUSynBioS I already thought that, but the idea was for sure reinforced and I left with new energy!

The lineup of speakers that the ATG SynBio Spain young team was able to put together was simply outstanding. Hats off for their team! It was very inspiring to see the efforts that successful entrepreneurs and their respective companies (e.g., Gijs Jochems – Promega Beiotech Iberica; Concepción Novillo – Bayer; Marc Güell – Integra Therapeutics; José Manuel Baena – REGEMAT 3D; Roger Cabezas – ICERCA; Javier Terriente – Asebio/ZeClinics) are doing to build the Spanish SynBio Hub. And I am sure that ATG SynBio Spain will continue having a main role in helping building the SynBio ecosystem of Spain. The organizing team showed an immense passion and enthusiasm that proved that anything is possible if you put the work to it. I believe that this energy will get them far and I look forward for future collaborations with EUSynBioS…and of course for their next event!