Twist Bioscience Appoints Experienced Technology Executive Jan Johannessen to Board of Directors

“Jan brings a depth of financial acumen and operational excellence from the semiconductor industry, and his guidance will be instrumental as we grow our synthetic biology business and importantly, as we look toward the longer-term opportunity of using DNA to store digital data,” said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Twist Bioscience.

Prior to Twist Bioscience, Mr. Johannessen served as CEO of Conexant Systems, LLC, a semiconductor company. Prior to his promotion to CEO of Conexant, he held the positions of chief operating officer and chief financial officer of the company. Before Conexant, Mr. Johannessen served as chief financial officer and secretary at REC Silicon Inc., one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies and a market leader in the manufacture of polysilicon and silane gasses. Previously, he served in escalating executive roles at Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, most recently as interim president and CEO. Mr. Johannessen holds a B.S. in Business from the University of Houston, and an MBA in International Business from Arizona State University.

“Twist Bioscience has already accomplished a tremendous feat in marrying silicon semiconductor technology with the commercialization and rapid scaling of the DNA synthesis platform,” commented Mr. Johannessen. “I look forward to applying my expertise in the semiconductor market and operations as the company continues to apply best principles toward evolving DNA digital data storage commercially.”

About Twist Bioscience Corporation

We are leading and rapidly growing synthetic biology company that has developed a disruptive DNA synthesis platform to industrialize the engineering of biology. The core of our platform is a proprietary technology that pioneers a new method of manufacturing synthetic DNA by “writing” DNA on a silicon chip. We are leveraging our unique technology to manufacture a broad range of synthetic DNA-based products, including synthetic genes, tools for next-generation sequencing (NGS) preparation, and antibody libraries for drug discovery and development. We are also pursuing longer-term opportunities in digital data storage in DNA and biologics drug discovery. We make products for use across many industries including healthcare, industrial chemicals, agriculture and academic research.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained herein are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, Twist Bioscience’s expectations regarding Mr. Johannessen’s anticipated guidance and entering the DNA digital data storage market commercially. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that may cause Twist Bioscience’s actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risks and uncertainties of the ability to attract new customers and retain and grow sales from existing customers; risks and uncertainties of rapidly changing technologies and extensive competition in synthetic biology could make the products Twist Bioscience is developing obsolete or non-competitive; uncertainties of the retention of a significant customer; risks of third party claims alleging infringement of patents and proprietary rights or seeking to invalidate Twist Bioscience’s patents or proprietary rights; and the risk that Twist Bioscience’s proprietary rights may be insufficient to protect its technologies. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to Twist Bioscience’s business in general, see Twist Bioscience’s risk factors set forth in Twist Bioscience’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 that is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the prospectus dated October 30, 2018 relating to its initial public offering of common stock. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Twist Bioscience specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.