Recently, the highly anticipated 2024 Personal Care and Homecare Ingredients Exhibition (PCHi2024) and the 27th Food Ingredients China (FIC) concluded successfully in Shanghai. GeneIII®, as a leading international manufacturer of Ergothioneine raw materials and a pioneer in the field of synthetic biology in raw material preparation, showcased its mitochondrial-grade antioxidant and “cosmetics and food from the same source” raw material – Ergothioneine, at both the cosmetics and food ingredient expos. This demonstrated the new qualitative productivity answers provided by “Chinese ingredients” in the consumer application field under the innovation of synthetic biology technology. GeneIII’s booth at the exhibition was immensely popular, attracting attention and praise from industry experts at home and abroad.
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Leading Manufacturer of Ergothioneine Raw Materials Dual Exhibition, Joint Focus
Focusing on beauty and food ingredients, the two annual ingredient expos in 2024 were held simultaneously in Shanghai, with the stunning appearance of GeneIII® and the joint exhibition, allowing audiences at home and abroad to immerse themselves in the pulse of the new raw materials industry in the consumer sector, gaining insights into industry trends and innovative technologies with a global perspective.
“GeneIII® showcased the antioxidant experiments of Ergothioneine through dozens of TV screens (DPPH antioxidant tests, surpassing the effects of international brand essences), which was visually very eye-catching,” praised top Zhihu blogger and industry opinion leader @ZuoFuzi; “Ergothioneine chooses GeneIII!” said raw material professionals attending the exhibition, “At the two major ingredient expos, nearly half of the visitors knew that GeneIII is a leading international manufacturer of Ergothioneine.”
PCHI, as a high-profile cosmetics ingredient exhibition driving the global cosmetics, personal care, and household cleaning industry, upholds the core values of PCHi: “Technology, Power, and Spirit,” bringing together nearly 800 suppliers of new technologies and products from over 30 countries or regions, including raw materials, analysis, testing, and equipment. More than 30,000 professional buyers, including R&D formulators, product managers, marketing managers, and corporate decision-makers from home and abroad, gathered to exchange and procure, presenting an international, professional, and efficient innovative technology event that connects industry resources for the cosmetics, personal care, and household cleaning industries at home and abroad. FIC, as the largest and most international food ingredient exhibition in Asia, is not only a frontier for new product releases but also a barometer of trends in the food industry. The exhibition brought together thousands of exhibitors worldwide, witnessing the latest developments in food additives and ingredient industries.
At the FIC exhibition, GeneIII presented a short English video about GeneIII® Ergothioneine, showcasing the “four-baton relay” process of strain construction, fermentation, purification, and engineering production of GeneIII Ergothioneine, highlighting its leading advantages in quality, production capacity, and cost. The display of GeneIII’s Ergothioneine skincare products and oral health products at the booth attracted a large number of domestic and foreign visitors for consultation, cooperation, and product procurement.
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Leading in Quality, Production Capacity, and Cost Making “Golden Price” Ergothioneine Accessible to the Masses
In recent years, Ergothioneine has gained increasing popularity in the field of healthcare. According to the “2023 Global Super Ingredient Trends White Paper” released by Tmall International, the market size of Ergothioneine has grown by 203% year-on-year, making it a “rising star” among functional skincare ingredients. Public data shows that Ergothioneine (EGT) is a cellular-level super antioxidant with a history of over a century. It was first isolated as a natural antioxidant from ergot fungi in 1909 and later found in mushrooms such as Ganoderma lucidum and Tricholoma matsutake. Research has shown that Ergothioneine can enter mitochondria and exhibit antioxidant effects over six times greater than that of coenzyme Q10, making it an ideal anti-aging ingredient. Additionally, Ergothioneine also plays a role in whitening, radiation protection, anti-inflammatory, and other aspects. In 2014, Ergothioneine was officially listed in the “Catalog of Cosmetics Raw Materials in Use.” Due to its significant antioxidant effects and wide application scenarios, coupled with the synergistic effect of 1+1>2 after compounding, Ergothioneine has gained favor from many domestic and foreign brands and has become one of the most popular active ingredients currently.
However, before 2017, Ergothioneine could only be extracted from rare fungi, with prices exceeding 30 million USD per kilogram. With the development of synthetic biology technology, by 2021, the price of Ergothioneine dropped to 300,000 USD per kilogram, but it still remained at a premium. For a long time, Ergothioneine was only added to skincare products of international top brands, earning it the title of “Hermès of antioxidants.” In fact, due to its high price, even when used in international luxury skincare products, Ergothioneine was often added in trace amounts or remained at the conceptual stage.
Within just two years since its establishment, GeneIII has successfully achieved cGMP pharmaceutical-grade production of Ergothioneine with a purity of 99.97%, reducing its cost by 90% from its original level, enabling Ergothioneine, once comparable to gold, to be accessible to the masses, truly embodying the value of popularization and benefiting the public. Ergothioneine produced through this technological path is free from impurities, with high purity and excellent stability, fully capable of being added in sufficient quantities without any odor.
Headquartered in Nanjing, Jiangsu, GeneIII adheres to the principle of “putting people first and prioritizing the future.” It has introduced and integrated a large number of high-quality scientific research talents to form a solid competitive barrier for enterprise scientific research strength. Currently, 60% of the company’s employees have doctoral or master’s degrees. GeneIII’s R&D team, adhering to the product-oriented approach, has shown the spirit of daring to tackle tough challenges and has pushed the product quality to the extreme. They work tirelessly seven days a week, around the clock, in three shifts, dedicating themselves to the research and development work of the entire chain system. Over the past two years, from upstream strain construction, biological fermentation, isolation and purification, engineering mass production, to product efficacy evaluation, and market application, they have always adhered to the scientific, rigorous, and professional craftsmanship spirit, committed to polishing truly excellent product quality.
Through the entire chain to achieve Ergothioneine bacterial gene editing, fermentation, purification, and engineering mass production, GeneIII plays an important leading role in the quality, production capacity, and cost of Ergothioneine, continuously promoting the application of Ergothioneine in the market.
Nowadays, relying on the core technology of synthetic biology, GeneIII has mastered the purification processing capacity of 20-ton fermentation tanks, with a monthly production capacity exceeding 3 tons. Using these data for comparison is more intuitive—Ergothioneine content in Ganoderma lucidum is 80mg/kg, and Ganoderma lucidum produces 500kg per acre, containing 40g of Ergothioneine; a 20-ton fermentation tank produces 40kg of Ergothioneine, equivalent to planting 1000 acres of Ganoderma lucidum.
Currently, GeneIII has successfully added its independently developed Ergothioneine in sufficient quantities to its skincare brand HA&EGT, with an addition amount of up to 1000+PPM, which is 50-100 times that of international luxury products. Moreover, GeneIII’s independently developed GeneIII Ergothioneine capsules were officially released this year, making Ergothioneine achieve “cosmetics and food from the same source.” These capsules use GeneIII’s independently developed Ergothioneine raw materials, with each capsule containing 25mg of Ergothioneine, equivalent to one jin (500g) of fresh Ganoderma lucidum. Its efficacy in improving sleep fatigue, nourishing qi and blood, and improving cognitive and nervous systems is significant.
It is reported that relying on the core technology of synthetic biology, GeneIII has successfully mastered the purification capacity of 20-ton fermentation tanks, with a monthly production capacity exceeding 3 tons. A more intuitive comparison with these figures: Ergothioneine content in Ganoderma lucidum is 80 mg/kg, and an acre of Ganoderma lucidum produces 500 kg, containing 40 grams of Ergothioneine; a 20-ton fermentation tank produces 40 kg of Ergothioneine, equivalent to cultivating 1000 acres of Ganoderma lucidum.
Empowered by these high-quality raw materials, GeneIII successfully added self-developed Ergothioneine in sufficient quantities to its skincare brand HA&EGT BoMayan, with an addition level as high as 1000+ PPM, 50-100 times higher than international luxury products. Furthermore, GeneIII also launched GeneIII® Ergothioneine capsules in 2023, allowing Ergothioneine to be ingested, achieving the concept of “beauty from within.” These capsules, formulated with Ergothioneine developed by GeneIII, contain 25 mg of Ergothioneine per capsule, equivalent to a pound of fresh Ganoderma lucidum. With significant effects on improving sleep, nourishing blood and qi, and cellular-level anti-aging, GeneIII’s Ergothioneine products have received widespread acclaim.
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Sixty Percent of Doctoral and Master’s Team Work Around the Clock in Three Shifts Driven by Extreme Ingenuity in Research and Development
GeneIII®, a synthetic biology technology company, is headquartered in Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. It was co-founded two years ago by Mr. Wei Ding and Dr. Wang Yang, a postdoctoral fellow in biomedical sciences at UIUC. GeneIII® integrates research, production, and sales in one entity. Mr. Wei Ding, the founder and chairman of GeneIII®, holds dual master’s degrees in materials engineering from Beijing University of Science and Technology and the University of Nevada, USA. He previously served as Senior Vice President of the A.O. Smith Group and President of A.O. Smith (China) Investment Co., Ltd., as well as CEO of Hengjie Group, holding over 20 original patented technologies. Dr. Wang Yang, the co-founder and chief scientist, holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacy from Oregon State University, USA, and is a postdoctoral fellow in biomedical sciences at UIUC. He is also recognized as a Zijin Star and a Double Innovation Talent at Nanjing University of Science and Technology, mastering several patented technologies in synthetic biology.
Adhering to the principle of “putting people first and doing things later,” GeneIII® has introduced and integrated a large number of high-quality scientific research talents to solidify its competitive advantage in research and development. Currently, 60% of the company’s employees hold doctoral or master’s degrees. It is understood that GeneIII®’s research and development team, in order to achieve engineering-scale production of Ergothioneine, adheres to the principle of product orientation, demonstrating a spirit of daring to tackle tough challenges and striving for excellence in product quality.
They work tirelessly around the clock, seven days a week, in three shifts, dedicating themselves to the research and development work of the entire chain. Over the past two years, from upstream strain construction, biological fermentation, isolation and purification, to engineering-scale production, as well as product efficacy evaluation and market application, they have consistently upheld a spirit of scientific rigor, professionalism, and dedication to crafting truly outstanding product quality.
Through end-to-end coordination, including bacterial gene editing, fermentation, purification, and engineering-scale production of Ergothioneine, GeneIII® plays a crucial role in quality, production capacity, and cost. They continuously drive the advancement of Ergothioneine market applications, receiving positive societal feedback.
In October 2023, GeneIII® stood out from 35,000 target companies and was selected for China’s first “Synthetic Biology Industry Value Gold List” alongside Bloomage and Giants Biotech. In November 2023, GeneIII® was chosen as a partner for CCTV’s “Quality China” program. In December of the same year, GeneIII® won several annual awards, including “Star Ingredient Partner” from China Good Formula and “Outstanding Chinese Ingredient” from the 2023 China Innovative Ingredient Competition, all thanks to its Ergothioneine raw material.
In recent years, GeneIII® has actively taken on industry development responsibilities, participating in the formulation of China’s first industry group standard for Ergothioneine. Leveraging its technological strength, GeneIII® has laid the foundation for standardization in related industries, driving a series of upgrades and developments in various sectors. Riding the wave of technological innovation in the synthetic biology industry, GeneIII® stands at the forefront, leading the way forward.
Recently, the international ergothioneine raw material supplier—GeneIII, was selected for the China Brand Innovation Development Project and was successfully chosen as the synthetic biology industry partner for CCTV’s “Quality China” program.
In just two years, GeneIII achieved the cGMP pharmaceutical-grade mass production of high-purity ergothioneine, a potent antioxidant raw material that was once as valuable as gold, making it accessible to the public. Simultaneously, the company participated in the formulation of the first industry group standard in China, leveraging its technological strength to establish a standardized foundation for the development of related industries. Based in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, GeneIII relies on innovation in core technological areas and a mature industrial production system to lead in the field of synthetic biology. It has become not only the largest producer of ergothioneine internationally but also holds over twenty original patented technologies, positioning itself as a leading enterprise at the forefront of the industry, driving the upgrade and development of a series of related industries in the wave of technological innovation in the synthetic biology sector.
“To be a truly competitive enterprise with core competencies that can lead the future development of the industry.” This is howWei Ding, the founder and chairman of GeneIII, described the company’s vision.
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In just two years, becoming the world’s largest producer of high-purity ergothioneine
Leading in quality, capacity, and cost
Currently, synthetic biology has become a recognized new track in the industry and is hailed as leading the “Third Bio-Technology Revolution.” As a pinnacle of human scientific exploration into the material world, synthetic biology has evolved from its embryonic stage to being able to mass-produce a variety of active substance raw materials, thus serving an entire industry, within just a decade.
While the development history of synthetic biology is not long, it is widely optimistic. According to relevant data, synthetic biology is now widely used in many sectors including medical health, chemical industry, energy, materials, food consumption, beauty and skincare, and agriculture. It is estimated that 60% of future products can be manufactured through synthetic biology production. In May last year, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the heavyweight “14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Biological Economy,” which clearly stated that the biological economy, including synthetic biology, is a new driving force for China’s economic transformation in the future.
“This is a new field full of infinite imagination. In theory, various substances can be replaced synthetically. Of course, the premise of whether they can be replaced or not is that the quality must be better, and the cost must be lower. If this can be achieved, it will be a good commercial alternative.” Wei Ding said.
Just as the “youthfulness” of the synthetic biology industry’s track, GeneIII, established only two years ago, is striving forward on the path of “embracing the new.” In September 2021, GeneIII was founded in Nanjing. In just two years, with synthetic biology technology, GeneIII successfully extracted the cell mitochondrial-level super antioxidant – ergothioneine. It was the first in the industry to achieve the cGMP pharmaceutical-grade mass production of ergothioneine with a raw material purity of 99.99%, establishing itself as a leading global supplier of ergothioneine raw materials. Moreover, it continues to promote the market application of ergothioneine. At the recent Synthetic Biology Industry Innovation Forum, GeneIII stood out from 35,000 target companies and was selected for the first “Synthetic Biology Industry Value List” in China. “In these two years, we have reduced the cost of ergothioneine by 90% using synthetic biology methods, achieving comprehensive leadership in quality, capacity, and cost.” Ding Wei explained.
In recent years, ergothioneine has gained significant popularity in the field of health. Public data shows that ergothioneine is a natural strong antioxidant. Its discovery dates back over a hundred years, with the first extraction from ergot fungus as a natural antioxidant in 1909. It has since been found to exist in fungi such as Ganoderma lucidum and matsutake. Research has shown that ergothioneine can enter cell mitochondria, exhibiting antioxidant effects more than six times that of astaxanthin and twenty times that of Coenzyme Q10, making it an ideal anti-aging ingredient. In addition, ergothioneine also plays a role in whitening, radiation protection, and anti-inflammatory effects. In 2014, ergothioneine was officially included in the “Catalog of Used Cosmetic Raw Materials.”
In fact, many companies worldwide have been trying to produce ergothioneine using synthetic biology technology in recent years. GeneIII is just one of them. In this emerging field, GeneIII’s ability to “take off” in just two years is seen as a “touchstone” for the company’s core competitiveness in synthetic biology. “We found that to truly establish commercial competitiveness, it’s not about running a hundred meters sprint but a 4×100-meter relay race, meaning four-stage relay. Editing the bacterial genes is just the first stage; fermentation, purification, and industrial-scale production are the subsequent stages. All four capabilities are essential.” Wei Ding explained.
Wei Ding explained that the so-called “end-to-end” process is like a relay race spanning four industrialized production stages, including bacterial gene editing and modification, fermentation, purification, and engineering-scale production. Specifically, it begins with strain construction technology, using gene editing to “encode” the ergothioneine gene into the bacterial chromosome and efficiently biosynthesize it, forming engineered bacteria. Qualified engineered bacteria serve as “seeds” and undergo a series of fermentation optimization processes including sterile inoculation, fermentation, crude extraction, fine extraction, liquid-phase separation, and efficacy evaluation. The fermentation products are then extracted, and strict control is maintained over the raw material crystals, quality, and purity of ergothioneine, achieving a purity of 99.99% for the raw materials. Finally, engineering-scale production is carried out based on cGMP pharmaceutical-grade production platforms.
“In Wei Ding’s view, truly capable synthetic biology companies must excel in all four areas, and none can be lacking. Although there are many emerging companies in the field of synthetic biology, few are able to fully complete the “end-to-end” chain and run the “4×100-meter relay,” constructing a full-chain engineering production system. “Professional synthetic biology companies must achieve balanced development in all four areas. GeneIII has set out to become a specialized and efficient company in the field of synthetic biology from the outset, making simultaneous progress in the construction of capabilities in all four areas. This is what truly constitutes a competitive synthetic biology company.”
Today, relying on the synthetic biology technology of the research and development team, GeneIII has mastered the purification processing capacity of 20-ton fermentation tanks, with a monthly production capacity exceeding 3 tons. This data comparison is more intuitive – Ganoderma contains 80 mg/kg of ergothioneine, with an annual output of 500 kg per mu, containing 40 g of ergothioneine; a 20-ton fermentation tank produces 40 kg of ergothioneine, equivalent to planting 1000 mu of Ganoderma.
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Seizing the opportunity of talent policies for development with the principle of “people first, matters later”
Exercising extreme craftsmanship, researching fine products round the clock
Located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, GeneIII fully utilizes the scientific research advantages of local universities, adhering to the principle of “people first, matters later,” and continuously enriching its talent team and integrating external scientific research institute resources to form a competitive barrier for its research and development capabilities.
Regarding why Nanjing was chosen as the base for GeneIII, Wei Ding said that Nanjing has a high density of universities, with a continuous stream of scientific research talents. The government has also introduced many targeted talent policies, providing comprehensive support for science and technology enterprises to root and develop. Currently, 60% of the company’s employees hold doctoral or master’s degrees.
In September of this year, Nanjing announced to the public the “Action Plan for Building a High-Level Talent Agglomeration Platform as the Overall Guiding and Fully Promoting the New Era Talent Strong City Construction (2023-2025)” and the “7 Policies for Key Industrial Talents.” This comprehensive upgrade of the talent policy system is aimed at the forefront of science and technology and the high-level talents needed for scientific and technological innovation and industrial development. It directly transforms Nanjing’s abundant scientific and educational resources into advantages for high-quality enterprise development.
Riding the wave of Nanjing’s talent strong city support leading industrial strong city construction, GeneIII has also firmly established itself and grown rapidly within two years. Wei Ding introduced that in the 0-1 entrepreneurial stage, GeneIII takes “learning ability, innovation ability, teamwork ability, result orientation, and self-drive” as the criteria for selecting talents, attracting talents who share the same values to join the company. In actual business operations, core talent positions lead by example, focusing on results. Guided by such values, teams collaborate closely, fully mobilize resources, and rapidly achieve technological breakthroughs and personnel growth.
“Products are the works.” This was the tone set by Wei Ding, the founder of GeneIII, at the company’s inception. Wei Ding explained that to achieve breakthroughs in the industry, the company’s R&D team has shown a spirit of daring to tackle difficult problems, working tirelessly 24/7 with a three-shift system, dedicating themselves to R&D work throughout the entire chain, tackling a series of technical challenges in fermentation, purification, and mass production of ergothioneine. For two years, from upstream bacterial strain construction, biological fermentation, separation and purification, to industrial-scale production, product efficacy evaluation, and market application, GeneIII has always adhered to a scientific, rigorous, and professional craftsmanship spirit, only to refine truly excellent product quality. With the production capacity, quality, and cost advantages of ergothioneine, GeneIII successfully added self-developed ergothioneine to its skincare brand HA&EGT, with an addition of over 1000PPM, which is 50-100 times that of international luxury brands.
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“Gold Price” Ergothioneine Becomes Affordable, Benefiting the Masses
The Value of Technology Trends Towards Serving the Public
For end consumers, the accessibility of a product may entirely depend on its cost and price threshold. Due to its significant antioxidant effects, wide range of applications, and synergistic effects when combined with other ingredients, ergothioneine has been favored by many brands both domestically and internationally, making it one of the hottest active ingredients today. However, for a long time, due to its complex extraction process and high cost, ergothioneine was only added to skincare products by top-tier international brands, earning it the nickname “new noble” or “gold price.”
Before 2017, ergothioneine could only be extracted from rare fungi. Data shows that one pound of fresh Ganoderma contains only 40mg of ergothioneine, leading to prices soaring to over 30 million USD per kilogram. With the development of synthetic biology technology, by last year, the price of ergothioneine had dropped to 300,000 RMB per kilogram, equivalent to 300 RMB per gram, still considered as expensive as gold.
“Through efforts in using the synthetic biology production chain, this year we have reduced the price of ergothioneine by 90% compared to last year. Last year it was 300 RMB per gram, and this year, due to market conditions, it’s basically 30 RMB per gram. At this cost, ergothioneine is now affordable for the masses, whether used in health supplements or skincare products. Its cost is no longer a barrier,” said Wei Ding.
Wei Ding emphasized that only by achieving high productivity oriented towards user demand and making ergothioneine, once considered a “gold price,” affordable, can further application development be explored. With the production capacity provided by enterprises, ergothioneine will no longer be a symbol of a small amount of high-end skincare or health products but will activate development opportunities in biopharmaceuticals, environmental protection, food, and other fields, benefiting more people and driving the development of the entire emerging industry chain and even the overall health industry.
“For more than a decade, ergothioneine has been widely praised in the industry. It is a very good antioxidant active ingredient with significant anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and health improvement effects. Current research has recognized that it has no side effects on the human body. However, because it was too expensive, it was dubbed with the name ‘golden sky-high price,’ making it inaccessible to the public. Since we all know it’s a good thing but because it’s too expensive, everyone can’t afford it, why not leverage the technological power of synthetic biology to truly remove the ‘sky-high price halo’ and benefit the public? This is also the original intention of GeneIII choosing ergothioneine as its first project,” said Wei Ding.
GeneIII’s development goal is to be based in the synthetic biology industry and lead its future. “We don’t simply position ourselves as an active ingredient for skincare or health products. Our goal is to build a professional synthetic biology platform that can achieve end-to-end production from the construction of engineered bacteria to the engineering-scale production of final products. This is our core positioning,” said Wei Ding.
Maintaining and promoting such core positioning is not primarily about investing in equipment or building large factories but focusing on the entire chain to achieve breakthroughs and enhancements in core research and development capabilities at critical points.
In an interview, Wei Ding mentioned that China is a major country in the fermentation industry, including pharmaceuticals, food, and many other industries, which rely heavily on fermentation. However, the current fermentation industry is largely limited to traditional categories. To truly achieve industrial upgrading and transformation, synthetic biology technology is indispensable. It can provide technical empowerment for the fermentation industry, allowing traditional fermentation industries to embrace the wings of synthetic biology technology and achieve world-leading development in the future.
Currently, GeneIII has expanded its focus from a single product line to new topics. For example, heparin, as an anticoagulant, is widely used in operations such as blood dialysis, extracorporeal circulation, catheterization, microvascular surgery, and anticoagulation of certain blood samples or instruments. Currently, all commercial heparin production worldwide still uses the traditional method of “porcine intestinal membrane extraction.” To solve various difficulties on the road to commercializing synthetic heparin, GeneIII collaborates with leading research institutions and experts in related fields to break down barriers between synthetic biology and chemical synthesis. With its high research and development efficiency, from the construction of bacterial strains to fermentation, purification, and production, GeneIII has addressed possible shortcomings in several key areas of synthetic heparin production, truly enhancing its competitiveness in the industry.
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Participating in the Establishment of the First Domestic Ergothioneine Application “Group Standard”
Laying a Solid Foundation for Industry Development
On September 12, 2023, the first domestic “Group Standard for Ergothioneine as a Cosmetic Ingredient” officially came into effect. This group standard specifies the technical requirements, inspection methods, inspection rules, labeling and packaging, storage, and shelf life of ergothioneine as a cosmetic ingredient, applicable to ergothioneine prepared using microbial fermentation or biocatalysis methods such as synthesis, separation, refining, and crystallization. This standard fills the gap for ergothioneine in the cosmetics field. As one of the drafting units of this group standard, GeneIII has been deeply involved in the formulation of ergothioneine standards, playing an important role in promoting the application of ergothioneine in the domestic market.
Wei Ding stated that standardization is the prerequisite for achieving industrial modernization. As the “largest producer” of international ergothioneine, GeneIII has always shouldered the responsibility of leading the industry. In the formulation of the first group standard for ergothioneine, GeneIII participated extensively, actively implementing the spirit of the “National Standardization Development Outline,” improving the level of standardization around the needs of high-quality industrial development, and playing a leading, supportive, and systematic role in the innovative development of ergothioneine industries, promoting its broader application in various fields.
“In the formulation of standards, for example, whether heavy metals exceed standards, microbial colony indicators exceed standards, and whether purity meets standards are all clearly defined. By actively participating in the formulation of industry standards, we promote the priority of standardization, ensuring the healthy development of this industry,” said Wei Ding.
To leverage core technological strengths, participate in industry standard formulation, and promote the construction of industry chains, it is inevitable to share some key technical information. Wei Ding stated that to truly make synthetic biology serve the public and reflect the value of technology-oriented people, sharing technology closely related to innovation and development in various industries is of great importance, and GeneIII is obliged to do so and is happy to see it happen. “Synthetic biology technology has no industry boundaries. It’s impossible for a single company to do everything. Cooperation, sharing, and innovation together are the way to development.”
The industrial “blueprint” of synthetic biology is still unfolding, and GeneIII’s path of innovation will continue to write new and exciting chapters.
Recently, the “2024 Jiangsu Province New Year Health Poetry and Music Festival” themed “Life is like a song, walking towards the light”, guided by the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Cyberspace Administration, Jiangsu Provincial Health Commission, hosted by Xinhua News Agency Media Group and Jiangsu Hospital Association, and organized by Xinhua Daily Press Health Media Center, Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Medicine Development Research Center, Nanjing University School of Government Management, Nanjing Nursing Association, Nanjing Hospital Association, and others, was successfully held in Nanjing. Leaders, experts, scholars, and well-known figures from the health sector of Jiangsu Province gathered together to celebrate the event.
During the ceremony, Xinhua Daily Press honored units that have made contributions in the medical and health fields. Among them, Jiangsu GeneIII Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. (GeneIII), a synthetic biology company headquartered in Nanjing, was awarded the “2023 Social Responsibility Contribution Award” for its outstanding contribution to the rapid realization of the industrialized production of the precious anti-aging ingredient and mitochondrial-level antioxidant “ergothioneine” (ET).
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24/7 “Three Shifts” Dedicated to Crafting Fine Products
Striving for Excellence to Satisfy Society
“To promote health, one needs a sense of mission. The rapid development of GeneIII is attributed to the company’s adherence to the craftsmanship spirit of ‘products as masterpieces’. Our entire company, day and night, spares no effort in research and development,” shared Chen Xiulan, Vice President of Human Resources at GeneIII, during the award ceremony. “To ensure high-quality product mass production, our research and development team has shown relentless determination, working around the clock, seven days a week, tirelessly tackling the technical challenges in fermentation, purification, and scale-up production of ergothioneine.”
It is reported that to overcome the technical challenges in fermentation, purification, and mass production of ergothioneine, GeneIII’s research and development team demonstrated a spirit of perseverance, working tirelessly 24/7 in three shifts to advance from upstream strain construction, biological fermentation, purification, and scale-up production, to product efficacy evaluation and market application. GeneIII consistently upholds a scientific, rigorous, and professional craftsmanship spirit, striving to achieve the highest standards in product quality.
Thanks to this relentless pursuit of excellence, GeneIII, established just two years ago, has rapidly achieved cGMP industrialized production of ergothioneine, with a monthly production capacity of 3 tons and a raw material purity of up to 99.97%, reaching a ceiling level. With its advantages in quality, cost, and production capacity, GeneIII has emerged as the world’s leading manufacturer of ergothioneine and has received positive feedback from society. In October 2023, GeneIII was selected for the inaugural “Synthetic Biology Industry Value List” among 35,000 target companies in China. In November 2023, GeneIII was chosen as a partner for CCTV’s “Quality China” program. In December of the same year, GeneIII won awards such as “Star Ingredient Partner” and “Outstanding Chinese Ingredient” in the China Good Formula Annual Ceremony, all thanks to its ergothioneine raw material.
“In the future, GeneIII will continue to prioritize consumer rights protection and user experience as the foundation and essence of our business operations, continuously promoting product and service upgrades,” said Chen Xiulan, Vice President of Human Resources at GeneIII.
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Making “Golden-Priced” Ergothioneine Accessible to the Public
Bringing Benefits to the Masses Reflects the Value of Technology
In recent years, ergothioneine has gained significant attention in the field of healthcare. Publicly available information indicates that ergothioneine is a natural powerful antioxidant that was first isolated from ergot fungus as early as 1909 and has since been found in mushrooms such as reishi and shiitake. Extensive research has shown that ergothioneine can enter mitochondria to remove free radicals, exhibiting antioxidant effects more than six times that of astaxanthin, 20 times that of coenzyme Q10, and 60,000 times that of vitamin E.
However, until 2017, ergothioneine could only be extracted from rare mushrooms such as reishi, costing as much as $30 million per kilogram, earning it the title of “golden-priced”. Therefore, in terms of ergothioneine application, even international luxury brands mostly relied on “conceptual additions”. Since its inception, GeneIII has focused its first project on the independent research and development of ergothioneine. Through strain construction, fermentation, purification, and scaled-up production, GeneIII has reduced the cost of ergothioneine to one-tenth of its previous price. With the support of its raw material advantage, GeneIII successfully incorporated its self-developed ergothioneine into its skincare brand HA&EGT and GeneIII Ergothioneine Capsules introduced in 2023.
In the field of skincare, HA&EGT contains ergothioneine at a concentration of over 1000 PPM, which is 50-100 times that of international luxury skincare products. The GeneIII Ergothioneine Capsules introduced in 2023 contain 25mg of ergothioneine per capsule, equivalent to one pound of fresh reishi mushroom. In terms of improving sleep, fatigue resistance, invigorating qi and nourishing blood, these capsules have received outstanding market feedback and were sold out immediately upon release.
“For more than a decade, ergothioneine has been highly praised by the industry for its significant anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and health-improving effects, and related research has recognized its lack of side effects on the human body. However, due to its high cost, it has been dubbed the ‘golden-priced’ ingredient and has not been widely used. Since we know it’s a good thing but inaccessible to many due to its high cost, why not leverage the technological power of synthetic biology to remove the ‘golden halo’ and benefit the public? This was the initial intention of GeneIII in choosing ergothioneine as its first project,” shared Mr. Wei Ding, founder and chairman of GeneIII, in an interview with Xinhua Daily.
With the production capacity advantage provided by GeneIII, ergothioneine is no longer a “banner” for a small number of high-end skincare or health products but can activate the development space in a series of fields such as biopharmaceuticals, environmental protection, and food, benefiting more social groups in need and driving the development of the entire healthcare industry.
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More than 60% of the employees hold master’s or doctoral degrees
Talent as the foundation, steadily advancing to build the future dream
Meanwhile, GeneIII Bio-Tech, headquartered in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, also fully leverages the scientific research advantages of local universities in Nanjing. Adhering to the principle of “putting people first,” it continues to enrich its talent pool and integrate external scientific research institute resources to establish a competitive advantage in research and development. Dr. Wang Yang, Chief Scientist of GeneIII Bio-Tech, holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from Oregon State University, USA, and has completed postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. He is also a distinguished talent of the Zijin Star Program at Nanjing University of Science and Technology and a double innovation talent. In the field of synthetic biology, he holds multiple invention patents. Among the employees of GeneIII Bio-Tech, 60% hold doctoral or master’s degrees.
“The principle of ‘putting people first’ is not valued in many startup companies. Most founders have misconceptions and believe that they should first start their business and then hire good talents with money. But I have a different view on this,” said Wei Ding, founder and chairman of GeneIII. He believes that to start a business, one must first establish a core team of talents and prioritize hiring. Only by selecting the right people can we focus on the professional field and do things well.
In the early stages of entrepreneurship, GeneIII takes “learning ability, innovation ability, teamwork ability, results orientation, and self-drive” as the criteria for selecting personnel, attracting talents whose values are in line with the company’s. In actual business operations, core talents lead by example and are results-oriented. Guided by such values, teams collaborate closely, fully mobilize resources, and quickly achieve technological breakthroughs and efficiency growth.
In the future, GeneIII will continue to regard talent as the foundation and adhere to the first element of productism. Leveraging synthetic biology as a medium, it will focus on the efficient development and application of more bioactive raw materials, continuously innovate to address the pain points of raw material demand, and constantly expand the application scenarios of vertical raw materials. With high-quality products, it will tap into the health market, provide better services to society, and benefit all beings.
[1] Data comes from a third-party independent professional laboratory.
[2] According to the document “Mushrooms: A rich source of the antioxidants ergothioneine and glutathione,” 1 pound of fresh reishi mushrooms contains 40mg of ergothioneine.
On February 8th, the 2023 Cosmetics Developers Conference and the inaugural Beauty Product Manager Festival, which gathered over 200 beauty brand founders, 2000+ chief scientists, product managers, formulation experts, and R&D engineers, was successfully held in Hangzhou. At this grand event, GeneIII stood out among over 200 competing ingredients and won the “Outstanding China Ingredient” award at the 2023 “Incredible China Ingredients” selection competition.
It is reported that the “Incredible China Ingredients” selection competition started in March of this year and concluded in December, lasting nearly 10 months. Through multiple rounds of data review, online voting, efficacy blind tests, and offline tasting sessions, adhering to the principles of “brand perspective” and “data-driven,” comprehensive evaluations were conducted on the participating ingredients. Among them, GeneIII’s ergothioneine (EGT) ingredient, with its high quality, stability, safety, and effectiveness, won the unanimous favor of expert judges, over 200 brand evaluators, and authoritative testing institutions.
As an award-winning entity, GeneIII was invited to attend the “Incredible China Ingredients” award ceremony and showcased the ergothioneine ingredient at the themed exhibition area. They participated in the special exhibition of winning ingredients, witnessing the glorious moment of outstanding Chinese ingredients together.
Established just two years ago, GeneIII has received industry recognition more than once. In October 2023, GeneIII stood out from 35,000 target companies and was selected for China’s first “Synthetic Biology Industry Value List” along with other companies like Bloomage Biotech and Giants Biogene. In November 2023, GeneIII was successfully shortlisted for the China Brand Innovation Development Project and was elected as a partner of CCTV’s “Quality China” program. Then, in December at the 2023 China Good Formula Annual Summit, GeneIII won the “Star Ingredient Partner” award with its ergothioneine component.
So, how did GeneIII perceive market demand and gain the unanimous recognition of judging panels and major industry awards? What are the technical stories behind this success?
01
Leading in the “Innovation Track” of Synthetic Biology
Achieving Comprehensive Leadership in Quality, Capacity, and Cost of Ergothioneine
In recent years, many companies worldwide have been exploring ways to produce ergothioneine using synthetic biology technology, and GeneIII is just one of them. However, in this emerging field, GeneIII has managed to achieve a “breakthrough start” in just two years, leveraging synthetic biology to reduce the price of ergothioneine to one-tenth of its original cost. They have successfully achieved high capacity production oriented towards customer demand, placing them among the world’s leading manufacturers of ergothioneine.
According to GeneIII’s founder and chairman, Ding Wei, “To truly establish commercial competitiveness, it’s not about sprinting a hundred meters but rather a 4×100-meter relay. That is, it requires four stages: strain construction is just the first leg, followed by fermentation, purification, and finally, engineering-scale production. Each of these four capabilities is essential, and any deficiency in one would hinder progress.” Although there are many emerging companies in the synthetic biology industry, few have managed to complete the entire “end-to-end” chain and run the “4×100-meter” relay, constructing a fully integrated engineering-scale production system.
The so-called “end-to-end” relay race refers to the complete process of ergothioneine bacterial gene editing, fermentation, purification, and engineering-scale production. Specifically, it begins with strain construction technology, where ergothioneine genes are “encoded” using gene editing techniques, inserted into the bacterial chromosome for efficient biosynthesis, resulting in engineered bacteria. Qualified engineered bacteria, acting as “seeds,” undergo a series of fermentation optimization processes including aseptic inoculation, fermentation, rough extraction, fine extraction, liquid phase separation, and efficacy evaluation center. Subsequently, the fermentation products are extracted, with strict control over the ergothioneine raw material crystals, quality, and purity, achieving a raw material purity of 99.97%. Finally, engineering-scale production is carried out relying on a cGMP pharmaceutical-grade production platform.
It is reported that every detail of the ergothioneine raw material production process at GeneIII has been certified by the FDA and meets quality standards such as SGS, CP, USP, EP, and JP. Additionally, it has passed third-party tests for heavy metal content, sensitivity to skin, cytotoxicity, and more. In terms of product application, GeneIII’s ergothioneine demonstrates outstanding performance in terms of light stability, heat resistance, and stability under normal conditions.
Leveraging the synthetic biology technology of its R&D team, GeneIII has mastered the purification processing capacity of 20-ton fermentation tanks, with a monthly production capacity exceeding 3 tons. This comparison provides a more intuitive understanding—ergothioneine content in Ganoderma lucidum is 80 mg/kg, with an annual output of 500 kg per mu of Ganoderma lucidum, containing 40 g of ergothioneine; a 20-ton fermentation tank produces 40 kg of ergothioneine, equivalent to planting Ganoderma lucidum on 1000 mu of land.
02
Driving Innovation in Ergothioneine Market Applications
Participation in the Establishment of the First Ergothioneine “Group Standard”
In terms of ingredient applications, GeneIII, with its leading quality, capacity, and cost advantages, has enabled the realization of “sufficient addition” of ergothioneine, which has traditionally been “monopolized” by high-end brands, truly bringing this valuable ingredient “from the sky to the earth.”
It is understood that before 2017, ergothioneine could only be extracted from rare fungi such as Ganoderma lucidum, with prices reaching as high as $30 million per kilogram. Regarding ergothioneine applications, even international luxury skincare brands primarily relied on “conceptual addition.” Leveraging the advantages of ergothioneine in terms of production capacity, quality, and cost, GeneIII successfully added self-developed ergothioneine in sufficient quantities to its skincare brand HA&EGT Bomeiyan, with an addition of up to 1000+ PPM, surpassing international luxury products by 50-100 times.
Moreover, GeneIII’s self-developed GeneIII ergothioneine capsules were officially launched this year, allowing ergothioneine to be “cosmetically and alimentarily homologous.” These capsules use ergothioneine raw materials independently developed by GeneIII, with each capsule containing 25 mg of ergothioneine, equivalent to one pound of fresh Ganoderma lucidum (literature shows that one pound of fresh Ganoderma lucidum contains only 40 mg of ergothioneine). In terms of improving sleep and fatigue resistance, nourishing qi and blood, and enhancing cognition and the nervous system, GeneIII ergothioneine capsules have received excellent market feedback, selling out upon launch.
In the process of applying ingredients, GeneIII has always taken on the responsibility of leading the industry. In September 2023, China’s first “Group Standard for Ergothioneine for Cosmetics” was officially implemented, filling the gap in the field of ergothioneine in cosmetics. As a deputy editor-in-chief of this group standard, GeneIII was deeply involved in the formulation of the ergothioneine group standard, playing an important role in promoting the application of ergothioneine in the domestic market.
This group standard specifies the technical requirements, inspection methods, inspection rules, storage, and shelf life of ergothioneine used in cosmetics for the first time. It is applicable to ergothioneine prepared by microbial fermentation or biocatalysis methods, including synthesis, separation, refinement, and crystallization processes. The standard emphasizes that when ergothioneine is used in cosmetics, its purity should reach ≥99%, complying with the “Cosmetic Safety Technical Specifications” issued by the China Food and Drug Administration.
03
Building on Talent
24/7 Shifts Forge Ingenious Products
The ability of GeneIII to achieve engineering-scale production of ergothioneine in a short period, solving a series of bottleneck problems such as quality, capacity, and cost, is inseparable from a solid foundation of talent. In the early stages from 0 to 1, GeneIII set “learning ability, innovation ability, teamwork, results orientation, and self-drive” as the criteria for recruiting talent, attracting individuals whose values align with the company’s. In practical operations, core talent lead by example and focus on results. Guided by these values, teams collaborate closely, mobilize resources effectively, and rapidly achieve technological breakthroughs and increased productivity.
In May of this year, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the significant “14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Bioeconomy,” explicitly stating that the bioeconomy, including synthetic biology, is a new driving force for China’s economic transformation. In September, Nanjing announced the “New Era Talent Strong City Construction Action Plan (2023-2025)” with the “25 Measures for Talent Strong City” and “7 Policies for Key Industry Talents,” further emphasizing the importance of talent. These policies aim to combine cutting-edge technology and innovation with the excellent talent in universities and research institutions in Ningxia to promote the high-quality development of technology-leading enterprises.
Located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, GeneIII fully utilizes the research advantages of universities in Nanjing. In the context of a series of talent policies introduced by Nanjing, GeneIII adheres to the principle of “putting people first,” integrating a large number of high-quality scientific research talents, and forming a solid competitive barrier for the company’s research strength. Currently, 60% of the company’s employees hold doctoral or master’s degrees.
GeneIII’s R&D team, in order to achieve engineering-scale production of ergothioneine, steadfastly adheres to the founder’s philosophy that “products are artworks.” They persevere with a product-oriented approach and demonstrate a spirit of tenacity by tackling difficult challenges to the fullest. They work tirelessly, operating on a 24/7 shift schedule, dedicating themselves day and night to R&D across the entire chain. Over the past two years, from upstream strain construction, biological fermentation, purification, engineering-scale production, to product efficacy evaluation, and market application, they have consistently upheld a spirit of scientific rigor and professionalism, committed to crafting products of exceptional quality.
It is believed that in the future, GeneIII will continue to build on talent, adhere to the primary element of product orientation, leverage synthetic biology as a medium, focus on the efficient development and application of more bioactive ingredients, continuously innovate in response to the pain points of ingredient demand, and expand the application scenarios of vertically integrated ingredients. They will open up the market with high-quality products, empowering and adding brilliance to “Chinese ingredients.”
In recent years, the development momentum of ergothioneine is thriving. According to publicly available data, the global market size of ergothioneine is expected to reach $389 million by 2030, with a CAGR of 38%. Based on the powerful antioxidant properties of ergothioneine at the mitochondrial level and confirmed safety assessment by the European Commission, which found no negative evidence in toxicological studies, ergothioneine is not only considered an ideal anti-aging ingredient in the cosmetics field but also recognized by the biomedical community for its pharmacological effects in improving sleep, preventing cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, liver diseases, and other cellular inflammatory conditions. It is expected to play an infinite application value in dietary supplements, food, and sports nutrition fields.
Ergothioneine (EGT) is a mitochondrial-level super antioxidant widely found in rare mushrooms such as Ganoderma lucidum and matsutake mushrooms. Studies have shown that ergothioneine is the only super antioxidant with a clear action pathway that can deeply penetrate into mitochondria to scavenge free radicals. It is mild, non-irritating, does not require tolerance building, and has no side effects on the human body, making it an ideal anti-aging ingredient.
As the concept of “Chinese Good Formula” suggests, excellent formulas can create outstanding brands, and Chinese ingredient formulas are gradually receiving more attention and recognition. Among the many emerging biotech companies, GeneIII is a typical example. In the just-concluded 2023,GeneIII successfully achieved the cGMP engineering production of 99.97% high-purity ergothioneine, becoming a star ingredient partner of “Chinese Good Formula.” The founder and chairman of GeneIII, Mr. Wei Ding, was selected as the Best CEO of 2023 by the China Beauty Association.
Strong Team: Sixty percent of Ph.D. team, 24/7 “three shifts” crazy research and development
GeneIII’s Bio-Tec Co., Ltd. is headquartered in Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. It was co-founded by Ding Wei and Dr. Wang Yang, a postdoctoral fellow in biomedical sciences at UIUC, two years ago, and is a synthetic biology company integrating research and development, production, and sales.
Mr. Wei Ding, the founder and chairman of GeneIII, holds a master’s degree in materials engineering from Beijing University of Science and Technology and dual master’s degrees in materials engineering from the University of Nevada, USA. He has served as senior vice president of the A.O. Smith Group and president of A.O. Smith (China) Investment Co., Ltd and Chief Executive Officer of Hengjie Group, and holds more than 20 original patented technologies. Co-founder and chief scientist Dr. Wang Yang is a Ph.D. in pharmacy from Oregon State University, a postdoctoral fellow in biomedical sciences at UIUC, a Zijin Star of Nanjing University of Science and Technology’s Excellent Program, and an entrepreneurial talent. He holds multiple patents in the field of synthetic biology.
It is reported that GeneIII, established in 2021, fully utilizes the scientific research advantages of universities in Nanjing, adheres to the principle of “people first and then things,” and continuously enriches its talent team and integrates external scientific research institute resources to form a competitive barrier for enterprise scientific research strength.
“The principle of ‘people first and then business’ is not valued in many startups. Most founders have misconceptions and think that they need to build up their business first and then hire good talents after they have money. But I have a different view on this.” Wei Ding believes that to start a business, you must first establish a core team of talents and prioritize hiring. Only by selecting the right people can you focus on professional fields and do things well.
Of the employees of GeneIII, more than 60% hold Ph.D. or master’s degrees. To overcome the technical challenges of ergothioneine in fermentation, purification, and mass production, GeneIII’s R&D team works 24/7 in three shifts, sharing data in real-time and relentlessly pursuing research and development with a craftsman’s spirit to achieve the ultimate product quality, efficacy, and user experience.
While focusing on internal research and development, Wei Ding also emphasizes external cooperation and communication. The core of a good formula is good ingredients. Ergothioneine is one of the safe and effective star ingredients, and more people should have a comprehensive understanding of it. From the beginning of entrepreneurship to the present, GeneIII has invited many industry technical experts, independent formulation experts, senior formulation experts from international companies, dermatologists, pharmaceutical laboratory directors from top universities, and top ingredient bloggers for repeated discussions on the positioning, differentiation, and product effects of ergothioneine to make the products more closely aligned with market demand.
High Quality: Ergothioneine with a purity of up to 99.97%
For a long time, due to cost and extraction process limitations, ergothioneine has mainly been added conceptually in trace amounts (10-50PPM) to the high-end product lines of international first-line brands. However, GeneIII’s innovation has achieved the full-scale addition of high-purity ergothioneine, breaking the limitation of this ingredient to only a few high-end brands. By providing high-purity, odorless, and exceptionally stable ergothioneine, the company has also promoted product upgrades in the cosmetics industry.
“Over the past two years, we have achieved full-scale production of ergothioneine through synthetic biology, leading in terms of quality, capacity, and cost. We found that to truly establish commercial competitiveness, it’s not about sprinting a hundred meters but running a 4×100-meter relay, meaning it’s a four-legged relay. Strain construction is just the first leg, fermentation is the second leg, purification is the third leg, and engineering production is the fourth leg. All these four capabilities are indispensable.” shared Ding Wei, founder and chairman of GeneIII.
GeneIII utilizes gene editing technology to insert relevant genes responsible for ergothioneine synthesis into bacterial chromosomes and optimizes the expression patterns of each gene, thereby constructing efficient engineered bacteria for ergothioneine synthesis. Qualified engineered bacteria serve as “seeds” and undergo a series of fermentation optimization processes such as sterile inoculation, fermentation, rough extraction, fine extraction, liquid phase, and efficacy evaluation center. Afterward, the fermentation products are extracted, and strict control is maintained over the raw material crystals, quality, and purity of ergothioneine. This ultimately achieves a raw material purity of 99.97%—higher purity also means better efficacy expression.
In terms of stability, GeneIII has demonstrated outstanding stability of ergothioneine raw materials under various conditions, including light, high temperature, and room temperature under light avoidance. This feature means that ergothioneine can function effectively under different environmental conditions, greatly expanding its potential in various application scenarios. After completing the extraction and purification process, the next step is mass production. GeneIII relies on a pharmaceutical-grade production platform compliant with cGMP to continuously improve the production capacity of ergothioneine.
High Production Capacity: 20-ton Fermentation Tank Purification, Monthly Capacity of 3 Tons
To meet the growing market demand, GeneIII continuously enhances its production capacity. Its ergothioneine production platform meets the cGMP certification standards of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and specializes in the production of characteristic raw materials and drug intermediates mainly based on microbial fermentation. It is reported that cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Process) standards are higher than GMP (Current Good Manufacturing Process), and the requirements for the raw material production process are stricter than traditional GMP. Every detail of the ergothioneine raw material production process of GeneIII has been verified by the FDA, and the raw material quality meets standards such as SGS, CP, USP, EP, JP, and has passed third-party tests for heavy metal content, sensitive skin, and cytotoxicity.
Relying on the cGMP pharmaceutical-grade production platform, GeneIII has quickly mastered the purification technology of 20-ton fermentation tanks, with a monthly capacity of 3 tons, to meet the global market supply demand. Compared to traditional small-scale fermentation, 20-ton fermentation tanks have higher production efficiency and lower unit costs. More importantly, mastering this scale of purification technology makes the production process of ergothioneine more efficient and stable, greatly increasing GeneIII’s ergothioneine production capacity. Currently, GeneIII’s ergothioneine raw materials have obtained international certifications such as FDA, SGS, HALAL, and Kosher, and have been listed on the North American ThomasNet platform.
Cost Reduction: R&D Upgrade, Costs Reduced to 1/10
For end consumers, the accessibility of a product largely depends on its cost and price threshold. Due to its significant antioxidant efficacy, wide application scenarios, and synergistic effects after compounding, ergothioneine has been favored by many domestic and foreign brands and is one of the hottest active ingredients currently. However, for a long time, due to the complex extraction process and high cost, ergothioneine was only added to the products of international first-line skincare brands, and even earned the titles of “new nobility” and “gold” because of it.
Before 2017, ergothioneine could only be extracted from rare mushrooms. Data shows that 1 pound of fresh Ganoderma lucidum contains only 40mg of ergothioneine, so its price once exceeded $30 million per kilogram. With the development of synthetic biology technology, by last year, the price of ergothioneine dropped to $300,000 per kilogram, equivalent to $300 per gram, still a premium price.
To further leverage cost advantages, GeneIII used strain construction and cell factory technology to achieve independent research and development and mass production of ergothioneine, reducing the cost of ergothioneine to 1/10 of its original price, enabling ergothioneine to be added in sufficient quantities. GeneIII’s skincare brand HA&EGT has achieved a breakthrough by adding 1000+PPM of ergothioneine, 50-100 times the amount of similar products.
The original intention of GeneIII is based on this concept: since ergothioneine is a widely recognized super antioxidant ingredient, it should be brought out of the “high-price halo” through the power of technology and truly serve the health and beauty of the public. Through continuous technological innovation and production optimization, GeneIII is turning this vision into reality, driving the development of the entire industry and making ergothioneine no longer unattainable.
Multiple Applications: Internal Regulation and External Nourishment, Dual Care for Skin and Health
With the increasing emphasis on health and beauty in society, the research and application prospects of this natural antioxidant are widely optimistic. Due to its strong safety and stability, it can be widely used in food, medicine, cosmetics, and other fields, and will play a more important role in the health industry.
In 2023, GeneIII independently developed oral ergothioneine capsules were officially launched, selecting GeneIII’s independently developed 99.97% high-purity ergothioneine raw materials, and adding sufficient amounts to oral products. Each capsule contains 25mg of ergothioneine, equivalent to about one pound of fresh Ganoderma lucidum, and demonstrates excellent efficacy in improving sleep, invigorating qi and nourishing blood, and delaying aging.
GeneIII does not stop there. Its future development goal is not to simply position itself as an active ingredient for skincare products or health supplements but to build a professional synthetic biology platform.
In the future, Ding Wei hopes to create a truly competitive enterprise that can lead the future development of the industry. To achieve this goal, GeneIII has achieved a double breakthrough in higher purity and lower cost of ergothioneine through hardcore technology. Technology is the primary productivity, and synthetic biology technology is pushing the rapid development of the cosmetics industry at an unprecedented rate, allowing more consumers to enjoy high-quality products at affordable prices and creating more exciting miracles.
With further research and technological advancements, synthetic biology may bring more unforeseen innovations and applications. GeneIII’s continuous deep cultivation in the field of synthetic biology will lead to what kind of future? It is worth looking forward to!
“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.
