SynbiCITE

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SynbiCITEFormation| 2013 (2013)

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Type| Business Incubator
Purpose| Supporting synthetic biology in industry
Headquarters| Imperial College London
Affiliations| Innovate UK, EPSRC, BBSRC
Website| SynbiCITE.com

SynbiCITE is the UK's national Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) for the adoption and use of synthetic biology by industry.[1] It also helps to incubate new businesses by providing them with space and accelerator programs, including funding, training and mentoring.

## History

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SynbiCITE was created in 2013 after a UK-wide competition to find the most suitable host university with the best strategic plan.[2] Initially funded by the government and other partners for five years, the organization was intended to become self-sustaining by 2018.[3][4] In April 2016, SynbiCITE opened the Synthetic Biology Foundry, a Research Councils UK-funded facility providing remote gene design, construction, and validation services using laboratory robotics. Based on a similar facility at MIT, it is the first commercial facility in the United Kingdom using laboratory automation to provide on-demand services specifically for synthetic biology.[5][6]

In 2019, the DNA Foundry opened at Imperial College London's White City Campus.[7] Its goal is to enable businesses to outsource DNA manufacture, design, and testing and accelerate the development of DNA-based technologies in the UK. SynbiCITE also supported the development of OpenCell, which provides affordable biotechnology labs using shipping containers in White City.[8]

## Organisation

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SynbiCITE is headquartered at Imperial College London. It is funded by a public-private partnership between the EPSRC, BBSRC, and Innovate UK, as well as several industrial and private investors.[9] It is run and managed by a board consisting of two co-directors (Professor Richard Kitney and Professor Paul Freemont).

## References

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1. ^ "Innovation and knowledge centres – EPSRC website". epsrc.ukri.org.
2. ^ "National hub to support synthetic biology extended with £5.5m funding commitment | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
3. ^ "New Innovation and Knowledge Centre to drive UK's Synthetic Biology progress – EPSRC website".
4. ^ "News in brief – 18 July 2013". 17 July 2013.
5. ^ "The UK's First Robotic DNA Factory Has Opened in London".
6. ^ "'DNA factory' opens at Imperial College London". Independent.co.uk. 6 April 2016. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
7. ^ "Behind-the-scenes @ London DNA Foundry, Imperial West White City". Friends of Imperial.
8. ^ Ireland, Tom (25 August 2018). "Buildings made from fungi? Meet London's pop-up bio-lab innovators".
9. ^ "UK's synthetic biology industry gets £10m boost – E & T Magazine".

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