Multus Biotechnology, a UK company producing growth media solutions for the cultivated meat industry, has announced the launch of its food-grade basal media, DMEM/F12.
The media was developed in collaboration with several global food and feed ingredient companies, using AI to identify functionally equivalent ingredients from the food industry to replace those traditionally used in biopharmaceutical production. It is scalable and provides essential
nutrients such as sugars, salts, minerals, and vitamins that are required for optimal cell growth.
For companies seeking regulatory approval, the media ensures compliance with food-grade standards and offers fully transparent performance data. It is available in 500ml and 1L bottles from Multus’ FSSC22000-certified manufacturing facility, enabling industry players and academic researchers to evaluate its performance in their own processes.
By partnering with an extensive network of suppliers, Multus says it has ensured the media can be produced at scale without compromising on quality. This network will also enable access to stable supply chains and partnerships with co-manufacturers, ensuring consistency and reliability.
Affordability and scalability
In January of last year, Multus opened what it claimed was the world’s first commercial-scale production plant for developing affordable, serum-free growth media for the cultivated meat industry. The news came after the company raised £7.9 million in 2023.
Last December, Multus launched Proliferum B, an animal component-free alternative to fetal bovine serum (FBS) designed to accelerate cultivated meat production. The media was the first product developed using Multus’ machine learning-driven system, and is said to address the cost, reliability, and ethical concerns associated with FBS.
“The launch of our food-grade DMEM-F12 basal media marks an important milestone in supporting cultivated meat companies as they strive towards commercialisation,” said Cai Linton, co-founder and CEO of Multus. “With the support of global food and feed ingredient companies, we’re delivering a solution that combines the reality of an industry-standard formulation with the affordability and scalability needed for real-world production.”
