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.
