Biosyn Genetics is a biotechnology research and development company notable for its work into genetic engineering. It was founded in 1977 by Bill Steingarten and Jeff Rossiter, and is currently headquartered in Biosyn Valley in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy. Biosyn was long considered the primary rival to InGen, which between 1997 and 2015 was the foremost genetic research company in the world. Subsidiary companies to which Biosyn is a parent include NutriSyn, PharmaSyn, and Nano League Technologies. Its motto is “The Future of Genetic Power is You.”
Throughout its years, Biosyn has also been subject to a number of scandals and investigations, mostly linked to corporate espionage against its rival and connections to the black market in the early 2020s.
History
1977-1993: Foundations
Biosyn was founded in 1977 by Bill Steingarten and Jeff Rossiter. In the beginning, Steingarten was CEO.
It was a major rival to International Genetic Technologies during the 1990s, during which time InGen was performing groundbreaking research into de-extinction. Biosyn employees had learned that InGen succeeded at bringing Mesozoic organisms to life through advanced genetic engineering and cloning techniques at a facility on Isla Nublar, Costa Rica, though it is unclear how widespread this knowledge was within the company. They accomplished this by extracting DNA from amber, as evident from InGen’s partnerships with amber mines around the world. InGen’s research was intended to build a kind of zoo attraction on the island called Jurassic Park; by 1993, the Park was near completion and would be opening within about a year. Biosyn purchased amber-rich land in the Italian Dolomites during the early 1990s, hoping to mine for this resource and catch up to InGen, but they were unable to determine how InGen managed to extract viable ancient DNA.
Biosyn features in the Return to Jurassic Park campaign of the game Jurassic World: Evolution. The game suggests that Biosyn was responsible for genetically modifying some of InGen’s Velociraptors, making them abnormally aggressive and highly resistant to tranquilizers. This is unconfirmed in the film canon proper, and seems unlikely, at least in the capacity described in the game.
1993 incident
A Biosyn employee named Lewis Dodgson worked with the company to steal trade secrets from Jurassic Park. A small cryopreservation canister disguised as a can of Barbasol shaving cream was developed by Biosyn, which was intended to hold vials of dinosaur DNA and maintain a stable temperature via coolant delivery. It was also equipped with a tracking chip to ensure it could be located.
Dodgson bribed a disgruntled InGen employee, Jurassic Park’s chief programmer Dennis Nedry, to shut down the security systems and steal preserved dinosaur embryos. With this DNA, Biosyn could catch up to its rival. On June 10, 1993, Dodgson met Nedry at a cafe in San José, Costa Rica to exchange the money and the cryopreservation canister; Nedry was paid US $750,000 up front and would be awarded an additional $50,000 for each viable embryo he delivered. The bribe was accepted, and Nedry returned to Isla Nublar to carry out the plan.
To pick up the canister, Dodgson had another insider at InGen, a corporate spy named Miles Chadwick. He would be waiting for Nedry at the East Dock and deliver the canister to the mainland. In case Chadwick had to venture into the island, he brought with him a local woman named Nima Cruz who had once lived on Isla Nublar. Dodgson did not trust Cruz, but her local knowledge might prove useful. On June 11, the plan was carried out, but Nedry failed to reach the dock in time; a tropical storm forced the InGen ship to leave early, and Dodgson’s spies were left on the island. A smaller boat was sent to the North Dock to pick them up, with the reward money on board to encourage their loyalty once they were picked up.
It is unknown what happened to the crew of Dodgson’s boat; they were gone by June 13, potentially attacked or killed by escaped animals. Nedry’s sabotage allowed Jurassic Park animals to roam the island freely, and with most of the Park’s staff on the mainland for the weekend, salvaging the situation had proven an impossible task. Nedry and Chadwick were among the victims; it is unconfirmed whether Cruz survived at this point. The Biosyn bribe money was never recovered, used instead to fund the education of Cruz’s daughter by the survivors of the incident.
1994-2013: Biosyn changes focus
After the incident of 1993, Biosyn’s CEO Bill Steingarten left the position. He was replaced by Jeff Rossiter, with the transition of power occurring in 1994. It is unconfirmed whether this had anything to do with the events of 1993.
The sabotage of Jurassic Park ended the project and sent InGen into a financial tailspin. In 1997, an effort to salvage the project ended with InGen accidentally releasing a Tyrannosaurus rex into San Diego, revealing de-extinction as a fact to the public. Shortly after, the near-bankrupt company was bought out by Masrani Global Corporation, and in 2005 successfully opened a reimagined version of Jurassic Park called Jurassic World. Biosyn had been beaten to the punch, and InGen held a monopoly on de-extinction for years.
During this period of time, Biosyn seems to have lagged behind InGen, though it did expand its reach and acquired several subsidiaries. At least three of these were NutriSyn, PharmaSyn, and Nano League Technologies. Biosyn moved to be based out of Italy, developing the land they already owned in the Dolomite Mountains and acquiring a huge dam for hydroelectricity.
2013-2022: BioSyn Genetics Sanctuary
Change once again came to Biosyn in 2013. Lewis Dodgson replaced Jeff Rossiter as CEO, and he brought with him memories of what Biosyn had nearly accomplished twenty years prior. The Biosyn headquarters were revamped into a more advanced research facility capable of extracting ancient DNA and housing animals.
Biosyn is mentioned in the game Jurassic World: Evolution as having revitalized during the 2010s, becoming serious competition for InGen again. They are a subplot in the Secrets of Dr. Wu campaign in which they spy on InGen research and tamper with its creations. This campaign takes place in an alternate version of 2018, making it non-canon.
Jurassic World closed after more than ten years of operation in December 2015 following a highly publicized safety incident involving the escape of a genetically engineered animal. Its prized geneticist, Dr. Henry Wu, was found guilty of bioethical misconduct and stripped of his credentials; he spent the next several years hiding from the law. The dinosaurs, meanwhile, were abandoned by Masrani Global. In 2017, volcanic activity began to threaten Isla Nublar, and poachers used this threat to manipulate former Jurassic World employee Claire Dearing into helping them capture numerous dinosaurs from the island. This was carried out in June 2018. The animals were sold at auction in Orick, California but were released during the course of events with only a few having been sold and shipped out. Those that remained escaped into the Pacific Northwest.
This provided excellent opportunity for Biosyn, which began acquiring animals through wild capture and the black market. They had particular connections with the Amber Clave Night Market in Valletta, Malta. Biosyn did well in the international stock exchange, and by early 2022 had a stock price of US$1,993.97 +3.01 (0.15%).
Divisions
Administration
BioSyn is headed by a Chief Executive Officer, whose duty is to make major business decisions regarding the direction the company takes. From the company’s founding in 1977 until 1994, this position was held by Bill Steingarten, who was succeeded by Jeff Rossiter. In 2013, Rossiter was succeeded by Lewis Dodgson.
Presumably, BioSyn has other corporate-level positions, such as a Board of Directors. Howard King seems to be a high-ranking member (working closely with Lewis Dodgson), but his exact job title is not known.
Subsidiaries
NutriSyn
This is a BioSyn subsidiary company which produces food products via genetic engineering research.
PharmaSyn
This is a BioSyn subsidiary company which produces pharmaceuticals via genetic engineering research.
Nano League Technologies
Information about Nano League Technologies is currently unknown.
Contracted employees
During its history, BioSyn has contracted outside individuals to work for it, usually in illegal capacity. In 1993, Lewis Dodgson facilitated the hiring of corporate spies Miles Chadwick and Nima Cruz. Of the two, Chadwick was a plant within InGen, while Cruz was an outsider. An unnamed dockworker and engineer were also corporate spies.
In the early 2020s, BioSyn contracted a smuggler pilot named Kayla Watts to transport de-extinct animals to the BioSyn Genetics Sanctuary from surrounding areas. Poachers and other black market connections were linked to BioSyn during this time, as were legitimate government and international authorities (particularly those in the Department of Prehistoric Wildlife and U.S. Congress).
