The IS Sf Insect medium is a low hydrolysate medium that Fujifilm Irvine Scientific has developed for insect cell expressions expression systems.
The cell culture media can be used with Sf9 and Sf21 insect cells in suspension cultures, and supports baculovirus expression vector systems for protein expression, such as recombinant proteins and viral vector production.
Fujifilm Irvine Scientific states that its product offers advantages over yeast hydrolysate as a nutritional supplement due to more consistent growth and protein yield.
The industry is showing greater interest in using insect cells as production hosts for recombinant proteins and viral vectors because of their ability to produce large quantities of proteins and ability to adapt to high-density culture, according to a company spokesperson.
“However, the current practice of using undefined serum and high concentrations of hydrolysates as supplements results in significant variability between media lots and production runs,” said Robert Newman, CSO at Fujifilm Irvine Scientific.
The offering from Fujifilm Irvine Scientific arrives as more contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) look into investing away from mammalian cell lines and into alternatives.
According to a spokesperson for the company, the global demand for cell culture media, used in cell line production, is growing by approximately 10% annually.
As a result of this market growth, Fujifilm acquired Irvine Scientific last year for $800m (€712m) to acquire its portfolio of cell culture media, reproductive technology, cytogenetics and regenerative medicines.