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  1. Breaking News! GeneIII Participates in the Establishment of China’s First Collective Standard for Ergothioneine!

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    “On September 12, 2023, China’s first collective standard for ‘Ergothioneine as Cosmetic Ingredient’ officially came into effect, filling a gap in the use of ergothioneine in the cosmetics industry. GeneIII, as one of the drafting units of this collective standard, was deeply involved in the formulation of the ergothioneine standard, playing a significant role in promoting the use of ergothioneine in the domestic market.

    As the world’s leading producer of ergothioneine, GeneIII has consistently taken on the responsibility of industry leadership. Currently, GeneIII has pioneered the achievement of c-GMP engineering-scale production of ergothioneine, with a raw material purity of up to 99.97%. GeneIII plays a crucial role in quality, production capacity, and cost aspects related to ergothioneine, continuously driving forward the development of ergothioneine applications in the market.

    In recent years, the market awareness of ergothioneine has been steadily increasing. According to the ‘2023 Global Super Ingredient Trends White Paper’ released by Tmall International, the market size of ergothioneine has seen a year-on-year growth rate of 203%, making it a ‘rising star’ among functional skincare ingredients. Publicly available information indicates that ergothioneine has a history of over a century. As early as 1909, the French pharmacist Charles Tanret first isolated ergothioneine from ergot fungi, and it was subsequently found in mushrooms such as reishi and matsutake. Research has shown that ergothioneine can enter cell mitochondria and provide antioxidant effects over six times* more potent than astaxanthin, making it an ideal anti-aging ingredient. In addition to this, ergothioneine also plays a role in skin whitening, radiation protection, anti-inflammatory properties, and other areas. In 2014, ergothioneine was officially included in the ‘List of Cosmetic Raw Materials in Use.’

    The ergothioneine collective standard that GeneIII has participated in developing, overseen by the China Food and Drug Enterprises Quality and Safety Promotion Association, has undergone several months of data collection, market research, and collaborative research. The first domestic collective standard for ‘Ergothioneine as Cosmetic Ingredient’ has finally been officially released, marking a new era for ergothioneine applications in the domestic cosmetics industry.”

    This collective standard, for the first time, sets forth industry standards for technical requirements, testing methods, inspection rules, labeling, packaging, storage, and shelf life for ergothioneine as a cosmetic ingredient. It is applicable to ergothioneine prepared using processes such as microbial fermentation or biocatalysis, as well as isolation, refinement, and crystallization techniques. The standard emphasizes that when ergothioneine is used in cosmetics, its purity should meet or exceed 99%, in compliance with the National Medical Products Administration’s ‘Cosmetic Safety Technical Specifications.’

    GeneIII, as one of the earliest companies in China to have patented technologies in the field of ergothioneine development based on synthetic biology, not only possesses robust gene editing techniques but has also made breakthroughs in the engineering-scale production of ergothioneine.”

    Relying on a c-GMP standard pharmaceutical production platform, GeneIII’s ergothioneine raw material achieves a purity of 99.97% and possesses the capability for fermentation in 20-ton tanks as well as purification processes. Additionally, by adjusting the pH value of the formulation system, ergothioneine remains stable and odorless even after ample addition. Currently, GeneIII has established a ‘closed-loop’ system covering multiple stages, from upstream strain construction, biological fermentation, isolation and purification, engineering-scale production, product efficacy evaluation, to market promotion.

    In the development of the first ergothioneine collective standard, GeneIII deeply participated, aligning with the spirit of the ‘National Standardization Development Outline,’ and actively addressing the needs of high-quality industrial development. GeneIII has played a leading, supporting, and systemic role in the innovative development of the ergothioneine industry. In the future, GeneIII will further leverage synthetic biology technology to expand the applications of ergothioneine in the fields of cosmetics, skincare, oral health, and medical well-being.

    Looking at the entire market, the prospects for ergothioneine are very promising. With the formal introduction of the ‘Ergothioneine as

    Cosmetic Ingredient’ collective standard, ergothioneine, as a ‘new generation’ functional ingredient in the cosmetics field, will experience more standardized development in cosmetic applications. Scientific and standardized raw material quality, coupled with effective quality control testing technology, will further promote the healthy growth of the cosmetics market!

    *Research findings are from independent third-party specialized laboratories.

  2. Pioneering Engineering-Scale Production! GeneIII Leads the Ergothioneine Transformation | Salon Recap

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    Recently, the “Promotion and Application of Ergothioneine in the Beauty Industry” salon, hosted by GeneIII, concluded successfully in Nanjing. This salon brought together many industry experts, including brand founders, senior engineers, and well-known skincare bloggers, to focus on the potential applications of ergothioneine.

    During the event, Jiangsu GeneIII Co., Ltd. (referred to as “GeneIII”) revealed that, through the scientific research efforts of its core team, GeneIII achieved cGMP engineering-scale production of ergothioneine in June 2023. They have also developed international competitiveness in terms of the quality, production capacity, and cost of ergothioneine, marking a significant milestone in the widespread application of ergothioneine in the beauty and skincare industry.

    It’s worth noting that ergothioneine is a natural antioxidant that has been recognized for its potential benefits in skincare and other applications. However, despite its potential, ergothioneine has faced challenges due to its high production costs and complexity. Traditional production methods, such as chemical synthesis and biological extraction, often resulted in limited yields and high costs, making ergothioneine a relatively expensive ingredient. The adoption of advanced biotechnology, such as gene editing, has the potential to revolutionize the production of ergothioneine, bringing down costs and making it more accessible to beauty brands.

    GeneIII, founded by Mr. Ding Wei, has made significant strides in the development and production of ergothioneine. The company’s core technology, led by Dr. Wang Yang, a pharmaceutical Ph.D. and postdoctoral researcher in biomedicine from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, focuses on synthetic biology. In just two years since its establishment, GeneIII has built a closed-loop system that covers everything from the cultivation of microorganisms to the production of ergothioneine, purification, engineering-scale production, product efficacy evaluation, and market promotion.

    By leveraging their GMP-standard pharmaceutical production platform, GeneIII has achieved ergothioneine raw materials with pharmaceutical-grade purity, reaching over 99.9%. They have also mastered the fermentation and purification processes in 20-ton fermentation tanks, equivalent to cultivating 2000-3000 acres of reishi mushrooms.

    This breakthrough has resulted in significant cost reductions, with ergothioneine prices dropping from previous levels of several million RMB per kilogram to around one million RMB per kilogram or even lower. GeneIII’s ergothioneine is now a leader in terms of quality and purity within the industry.

    However, despite these achievements, there are still challenges to overcome. Ergothioneine remains relatively unknown among consumers, and there is a lack of consensus within the industry regarding product standards and efficacy testing. Industry experts at the salon emphasized the need for effective marketing strategies to educate consumers about the benefits of ergothioneine. They also stressed the importance of establishing standardized testing methods to differentiate the quality of ergothioneine products from various manufacturers.

    Despite the challenges, many salon participants expressed optimism about the future of ergothioneine in the beauty industry. As production capacity continues to increase and with ergothioneine’s exceptional antioxidant properties, it is expected to gain popularity as an affordable and effective ingredient for beauty brands. The application of ergothioneine could potentially transform the skincare industry in China.

    *Data mentioned in the article is based on third-party independent laboratory testing commissioned by GeneIII.

  3. Household Appliance “Tycoon” Ventures into Entrepreneurship, GeneIII Achieves Industrial-Scale Production of Ergothioneine in Just Two Years

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    Wei Ding, the founder and chairman of GeneIII, holds a master’s degree in materials engineering from Beijing University of Science and Technology and a dual master’s degree in materials engineering from the University of Nevada, USA. Prior to founding GeneIII, he served as Senior Vice President and China President of A.O. Smith Corporation and CEO of Hengjie Group, holding more than 20 original patented technologies.

    With over 20 years of experience in the home appliance industry and his role as CEO at Hengjie Group, Wei Ding is now in his 60s, but he remains full of energy. However, during an interview with Wei Ding, one can’t help but wonder why he ultimately ventured into the field of health and skincare based on synthetic biology.

    Many things aren’t planned; they just happen due to fate,” says Wei Ding, the founder and chairman of GeneIII. His interest in the health and skincare field can be traced back to 20 years ago when he was still working in the home appliance industry. During that time, Ding noticed a South Korean company that had converted water softeners into beauty devices, which inspired him.

    When Wei Ding later joined Hengjie Group, he planned to develop a beauty showerhead that could spray small molecule beauty water directly. In this project, he met Dr. Wang, a pharmaceutical doctorate holder from Oregon State University and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Dr. Wang possessed multiple patented technologies in synthetic biology and could produce beauty and skincare ingredients using gene-editing techniques. Subsequently, Wei Ding and Dr. Wang co-founded the synthetic biology company GeneIII, focusing on developing bioactive ingredients, functional skincare products, and health supplements.

    Their foray into the synthetic biology field led them to discover a natural antioxidant called ergothioneine  that is highly regarded in the skincare industry. ergothioneine has exceptional antioxidant properties, capable of targeting mitochondria through specific transporter protein OCTN-1, directly eliminating free radicals. It is the only antioxidant ingredient known to penetrate mitochondria directly through cell membranes.

    Despite its potential, ergothioneine’s high price tag was a limitation due to the complex extraction process and limited supply sources. Around 2017, the market price of ergothioneine exceeded $30 million per kilogram, making it an expensive and scarce ingredient. By 2021, advances in biotechnological extraction had brought the market price down to $300,000 per kilogram, but it was still relatively expensive. Wei Ding explained, “Because of ergothioneine’s high cost, not every brand could afford it, and even if they could, they were hesitant to use it in large quantities. Most skincare products only contained around 10PPM of Ergothioneine, which, in reality, was insufficient to fully utilize its antioxidant capabilities.”

    Given these circumstances, GeneIII, established only a few years ago, decided to focus on Ergothioneine as its core ingredient and committed to mass-producing it through biotechnology to lower costs and make it more accessible for skincare products. This strategy aimed to enable the inclusion of a more substantial amount of Ergothioneine in skincare products. The confidence to pursue this goal stemmed from the strong research and development team at GeneIII.

    Dr. Wang, co-founder and chief scientist at GeneIII, held a Ph.D. in pharmaceuticals from Oregon State University and had over ten years of experience in synthetic biology. He had mastered gene-editing techniques a decade earlier. Dr. Wang described gene-editing as the design and modification of DNA programs within bacteria, allowing them to extract genes from rare fungi such as Ganoderma lucidum and Matsutake mushrooms to produce Ergothioneine and other rare ingredients.

    At GeneIII, Dr. Wang led a research team dedicated to the independent development and mass production of Ergothioneine. Ergothioneine produced through synthetic biology boasted high purity, low impurities, low production costs, environmental safety, and high production efficiency. The latest test results indicated that Ergothioneine from GeneIII had a purity level of 99.9%.

    As a leading synthetic biology technology company in China, GeneIII achieved breakthroughs in engineering Thioketone’s mass production. Leveraging a GMP-standard pharmaceutical production platform, the company produced Ergothioneine raw materials with pharmaceutical-grade purity and mastered the fermentation and purification processes in 20-ton fermentation tanks. This made GeneIII the first major Ergothioneine producer in China with a full-scale production chain.

    Backed by its strong research and development capabilities, GeneIII’s Ergothioneine product line garnered positive market responses. The company introduced Ergothioneine into its skincare brand “HA&EGT” and oral Ergothioneine capsules in 2023. The capsules, considered health supplements, exhibited groundbreaking improvements in safety, content, and quality. Each capsule contained 25mg of Ergothioneine, equivalent to the Ergothioneine content in a pound of fresh Ganoderma lucidum. The capsules received unanimous praise from consumers for their outstanding benefits in improving sleep, delaying aging, and enhancing overall health.

    In Wei Ding’s perspective, GeneIII’s ability to independently develop and mass-produce Ergothioneine within two years was attributed to their dual focus on building a talented workforce and product innovation. Wei Ding emphasized the importance of precise positioning and understanding customer needs, as well as fostering innovation within the company. As of now, GeneIII has a research and development team of over 60 members, with 60% holding postgraduate degrees, including three biology Ph.D. holders like Dr. Wang.

    To align their research more closely with market demand, GeneIII regularly invites beauty bloggers, formulation experts, and medical material suppliers to participate in research and development seminars. This approach helps extract innovative research topics from real customer demands and pain points. Wei Ding’s goal is to create a collaborative atmosphere in which the research and development team responds to market demand, truly innovating to solve industry challenges and address user needs.

    Considering the broader market landscape, Ergothioneine holds significant promise. As one of the first Chinese companies to pioneer Ergothioneine research and development using synthetic biology and hold patented technology, GeneIII has successfully completed the full Ergothioneine production chain. With the synthetic biology trend leading the way, Ergothioneine is poised for broader applications in skincare, oral health supplements, and medical and health fields.