Concerns Over BSE, or Mad Cow Disease and FDA Regulation Has Contributed to Decreased Use of (FBS) Fetal Bovine Serum in Biomanufacturing.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c39059) has announced the addition of Cell Culture: Media, Sera, and Reagents to their offering

The culturing of cells requires nutrients from media, sera, and reagents and is used for research, process development, and biomanufacturing purposes. In recent years, with ongoing consolidation activity, the market has been dominated by fewer major suppliers, led by Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific (with its HyClone subsidiary), and JRH Biosciences. Only the largest players can compete as suppliers in the therapeutic production and manufacturing space, but smaller players, particularly Mediatech (with its Cellgro brand), are gaining significant market share in academic and industry research segments. Niche markets like stem cell research will grow in size and importance, given encouraging news like the recent $3 billion voter-approved bond in California to fund stem cell research over the next ten years. In addition, media consumption levels, especially for specialty and custom serum-free formulations, are on the rise, fuelled by biologics like monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, and recombinant proteins that are in the pipeline or commercially marketed. In parallel, fetal bovine serum (FBS) use has decreased significantly in biomanufacturing applications, due to concerns over Bovine Spongiform Encelphalopathy (BSE, or Mad Cow disease) and FDA regulations. However, according to our interviews with academic and industry end-users, FBS usage continues to be prevalent within research segments. With the worldwide and US cell culture markets experiencing steady double-digit growth, the market landscape is poised for more competition, especially amongst companies able to expand their sales and marketing initiatives and develop new products adapted to different cell lines. From extensive interviews with cell culture purchasing decision-makers, we identify, analyze, and recommend specific strategic tactics for companies aiming to grow revenues and increase market share.

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