BD launches cell culture media supplement for drug production

BD has announced the launch of a new cell culture media supplement that can assist in augmenting the productivity of biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

The chemically-defined BD Recharge supplement has been developed using Chinese hamster ovary cell lines and helps to eliminate unnecessary constituents, thus maximising cell viability and protein production.

It offers productivity comparable to peptone supplements, which are commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry but carry a risk of variability due to the undefined materials involved.

By contrast, BD Recharge is manufactured at the company's dedicated animal-free/antibiotic-free facility, meaning ingredient use has been controlled at the tertiary level to eliminate such risks.

Robert Hallenbeck, vice-president for advanced bioprocessing at BD Biosciences, said: "Chemically-defined supplements are a significant advance for biopharmaceutical cell culture."

Last month, the company announced the launch of the BD FACSVerse Flow Cytometer, a new cell analyser for use in a wide variety of streamlined research applications.