{"id":13423,"date":"2016-11-04T17:36:56","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:36:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T17:49:44","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:49:44","slug":"the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/","title":{"rendered":"The Anti-Organic: Super Salmon for Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is synthetic biology?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Synthetic biology alters the genetic code of living organisms to create new \u201cnovel organisms\u201d. Companies like Intrexon build gene programs stored within DNA vectors that are reinjected into living cells to create improved products[1]<\/sup>. This technology is being applied to create biofuels, essential foods, and more resilient seeds for agriculture.<\/p>\n

Intrexon seeks to industrialize technology to create less costly and more sustainable products. Intrexon is the company behind two commercialized products: a non-browning apple and a genetically modified salmon that can grow to market size in half the time with 25% less feed[2]<\/sup>. The AquaAdvantage Salmon is the first engineered food animal approved by the FDA and the Arctic Apple is the first USDA approved non-browning apple that doesn\u2019t use chemical or antioxidant treatments[2]<\/sup>. The company\u2019s pipeline of products also expands into the healthcare and environmental sectors: they are currently developing a genetically engineered mosquito to fight the Zika virus (a controversial product) and an activator technology to regulate the timing of plant flowering[3]<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Why \u201csuper salmon\u201d?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Intrexon\u2019s business opportunity has been created by climate change\u2019s impact on our planet\u2019s agricultural supply and its dichotomy with global population growth. Climate change forces species to adapt to environmental conditions that are changing faster than they ever have before. Changes that have affected fisheries include rising sea temperatures, rising sea levels, lower ocean pH levels, and changes in ocean circulation[4]<\/sup>. In addition, the projected increases in the frequency of storms that will impact the number of \u201cfishable days\u201d and insurance costs point to increased costs for fishing.<\/p>\n

Fish contribute to 1\/6th<\/sup> of the animal protein that humans consume and seafood demand has continued to rise with human population growth, yet fish supply has stagnated. According to the World Resource Institute, farmed fish supply will need to more than double to meet demand by 2050[5]<\/sup>. Intrexon\u2019s engineered salmon is designed to increase efficiency in aquaculture production necessary to meet global protein demand in the face of negative climate change impacts on fishing.<\/p>\n

The faster development cycle for a AquaAdvantage Salmon (1.5 years vs 3 years) also allows it to be raised entirely on land rather than transferred to the sea after 1 year[3]<\/sup>. By raising the salmon on land in major cities rather than transporting the salmon from sea to land, this method reduces carbon emissions from transportation and decreases environmental risks to fish populations.<\/p>\n

\"pic1\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source:<\/em><\/strong> Intrexon Corporation, September 2016 Corporate Presentation.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why is this a good business?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Intrexon\u2019s business model is primarily as an incubator of technology: Intrexon provides the proprietary technology and early R&D, and then partners with an exclusive channel collaborator (ECCs) or joint venture partner. The better-capitalized collaborator provides expertise and development resources to bring the product to market. This model is unique from typical biotech models: the collaborator is responsible for the entire development cost, leaving Intrexon free (and leaner in personnel and costs) to research new products in their R&D pipeline. As a result, Intrexon has built itself as a low-cost platform for scaling synthetic biology technologies to development milestones across a wide range of industries, including food, healthcare, and the environment. The company went public in August 2013 and has a current market capitalization of $3.1bn.<\/p>\n

The market for synthetic biology is estimated at $4.5bn and is the fastest growing segment in the biotechnology field, estimated to reach $18bn by 2018[6]<\/sup>. If Intrexon\u2019s technology can be applied more broadly and even replace existing practices, they can target the global market for aquaculture which is $157bn[2]<\/sup>. As a highly-regarded company with publicly traded stock and low capital requirements, Intrexon can assemble a diversified portfolio of technologies to identify and accelerate commercialization of technologies in this emerging growth industry. This will allow them to continue to attract investor capital to capture a large market opportunity created by the need for climate change adaptation.<\/p>\n

\"pic2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Source:<\/em><\/strong> Intrexon Corporation, September 2016 Corporate Presentation.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What are the next steps?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Intrexon has created a valuable business model but concerns have been raised about human health and safety issues. Activists believe that rather than adapting to climate change, synthetic biology may create invasive species that reduce our species\u2019 richness. Regulation of synthetic biology is still nascent and in order to effectively move this technology forward, companies like Intrexon will need to take an active role in helping the FDA, EPA, and USDA create a more defined set of guidelines to bring products to market starting from the beginning of R&D processes. To demonstrate that these new species do not harm existing ecosystems, Intrexon and its collaborators must also get buy-in from farming communities that are willing to show proof-of-concept in different regions of the world that experience different ocean environments.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"pic3\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Source:<\/em><\/strong> Intrexon Corporation, September 2016 Corporate Presentation.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Word Count: 793)<\/p>\n

[1] <\/sup>Intrexon Corporation, 2015 Annual Report.<\/p>\n

[2] <\/sup>Intrexon Corporation, September 2016 Corporate Presentation.<\/p>\n

[3] <\/sup>Jason N. Butler, \u201cIntrexon Corporation (XON)\u201d, JMP Securities<\/em>, May 3, 2016.<\/p>\n

[4] <\/sup>Ingrid van Putten, \u201cFishing for the Impacts of Climate Change in the Marine Sector: A Case Study\u201d, International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management<\/em>, Vol. 6 No. 4 (2014), 421-441.<\/p>\n

[5] <\/sup>Richard Waite, \u201cImproving Productivity and Environmental Performance of Aquaculture\u201d, World Resources Institute<\/em> (June 2014).<\/p>\n

[6] <\/sup>Research and Markets, \u201cSynthetic biology market – global industry analysis, size, growth, share and forecast, 2018\u201d, Manufacturing Close-Up (2012).<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imagine a world where our supply of food is never threatened. This is the world that Intrexon Corporation, a leader in synthetic biology, is hoping to create.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1895,"featured_media":13751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[28,1260,1932,1751,1484,33,1934,1928,1933],"class_list":["post-13423","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-aquaculture","category-biology","category-commercial-fishing","category-fishing","category-food","category-gmo","category-science","category-synthetic-biology"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/climate-change-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\nThe Anti-Organic: Super Salmon for Dinner - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Anti-Organic: Super Salmon for Dinner - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Imagine a world where our supply of food is never threatened. This is the world that Intrexon Corporation, a leader in synthetic biology, is hoping to create.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-04T21:49:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/DSC_1640.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1059\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Anti-Organic: Super Salmon for Dinner - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/DSC_1640.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-04T21:36:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-04T21:49:44+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/DSC_1640.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/DSC_1640.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1059},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Anti-Organic: Super Salmon for Dinner\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Anti-Organic: Super Salmon for Dinner - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Anti-Organic: Super Salmon for Dinner - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"Imagine a world where our supply of food is never threatened. This is the world that Intrexon Corporation, a leader in synthetic biology, is hoping to create.","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","article_modified_time":"2016-11-04T21:49:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":1059,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/DSC_1640.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/","name":"The Anti-Organic: Super Salmon for Dinner - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/DSC_1640.jpg","datePublished":"2016-11-04T21:36:56+00:00","dateModified":"2016-11-04T21:49:44+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/DSC_1640.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/DSC_1640.jpg","width":1600,"height":1059},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-anti-organic-super-salmon-for-dinner\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Anti-Organic: Super Salmon for Dinner"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/13423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1895"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/13423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}