Gensinta Expands with New Operations at the HUBIO Technology Development Centre

Northtown Vilnius, the operator of the Vilnius City Innovation Industrial Park (VCIIP), and the growing biotechnology company Gensinta have signed an agreement for the company to establish operations at the HUBIO Technology Development Centre.

At the VCIIP Technology Development Centre, Gensinta will establish its operations in more than 3,000 sq. m of laboratory and office space. The expansion will be implemented in two phases and is expected to create up to 35 high value-added jobs. Investments in research and manufacturing infrastructure are projected to reach up to EUR 6 million.

Operating in the fields of biotechnology and synthetic biology, Gensinta is developing an innovative DNA synthesis technology in response to the rapidly growing demand for synthetic DNA products across the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and related industries. These sectors are expected to play an increasingly important role in the global economy by helping address challenges in healthcare – particularly personalised medicine, longevity and healthy ageing – as well as food security, climate change, pollution reduction and industrial sustainability.

According to Benas Macijauskas, CEO of Gensinta, the cost of synthetic DNA, delivery times and final product quality remain among the key constraints limiting progress in synthetic biology, biotechnology R&D and parts of the pharmaceutical development value chain. Addressing these challenges would accelerate the development of new biological products, shorten experimental cycles and reduce the cost of commercialising innovation.

“Our DNA synthesis platform is being developed specifically to address these challenges. Built on Gensinta’s proprietary technology, the platform is designed to improve the efficiency of synthetic DNA production, reduce costs and enable the rapid, high-quality and large-scale production of DNA libraries, genes and gene fragments for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, academic and related-sector customers,” says Macijauskas.

Commenting on the decision to choose HUBIO for the company’s expansion, Macijauskas notes that while innovation sometimes starts with a strong idea and the talent to turn it into reality, this alone is not enough in the life sciences and biotechnology sectors. Validating, developing and commercialising new technologies requires sophisticated and costly equipment, highly sensitive methodologies and, above all, access to critical infrastructure.

“We are delighted that Gensinta has chosen HUBIO as the location to expand and commercialise its DNA synthesis technology. The decision by such a strategic company to establish its operations at the VCIIP Technology Development Centre is important not only for the strong and growing VCIIP ecosystem but also for Vilnius. I have no doubt that in the near future, when we talk about globally competitive technologies being developed by companies at VCIIP, we will look back on this as the beginning of that growth,” says Dr Gediminas Pauliukevičius, CEO of Northtown Vilnius, the operator of VCIIP.

According to Dr. Pauliukevičius, the recently completed HUBIO centre fills an important gap in the market. Although much has been said in recent years about the rapid growth and the “golden age” of the life sciences industry, the VCIIP Technology Development Centre is the first facility of its scale to be built in Vilnius over the past decade specifically to support the growth of life sciences companies.

“The 7,000 sq. m laboratory and office complex was designed in response to the expectations expressed by growing life sciences companies, with a strong focus on functionality and the flexibility to adapt the premises to individual business needs. We expect the majority of the premises to be fully occupied by the end of this year,” adds Gediminas Pauliukevičius.