Multus, a British biotech company, has launched Proliferum B, an animal component-free alternative to fetal bovine serum (FBS) for cultivated meat production. The product, developed using a machine learning-driven system, is available for sampling with specifications available upon request.

Proliferum B is designed to replace FBS in cell culture processes and has been developed using bovine cells. The product has been tested against FBS on various cell types, including primary bovine fibroblasts, immortalized bovine satellite cells, and immortalized murine pre-adipocytes, demonstrating shorter doubling times and consistent performance across multiple passages.

Proliferum B addresses the high costs, reliability issues, and ethical concerns associated with FBS while accelerating early R&D. The company developed the product in nine months from lab to market and claims it will help cultivated meat companies progress and scale faster, ultimately making cultivated meat more affordable and accessible.

Analyst QuickTake: In January 2024 , the company unveiled what it claims to be the first large-scale production plant making serum-free growth media in the cultivated meat industry. Further, in December 2023 , it partnered with New Wave Biotech to advance cultivated meat production with AI. The combination of these developments was likely instrumental in the development of the new serum.