Fetal Bovine Serum Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Drug Discovery, In-Vitro Fertilization, Vaccine Production), By End-user, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 To 2030

Fetal bovine serum (FBS) is the primarily used growth supplement for cell culture media owing to its high content of embryonic growth-promoting factors. FBS is a complex mixture of biomolecules that comprises proteins, growth factors, vitamins, hormones, trace elements, and other nutrients that can support the proliferation and viability of cells in culture. In addition, FBS neutralizes potential toxic factors such as proteolytic activity, pH changes, and endotoxins and protects cultured cells.

Fetal bovine serum-based media remains the gold standard for Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy expansion and isolation for both clinical application and basic research and has been defined as a standard protocol by the Developmental Committee of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). However, FBS in a culture medium elevates multiple safety concerns, particularly in clinical-grade preparations. One of the major concerns is the risk of contamination of the FBS with harmful pathogens such as mycoplasma, viruses, prions, or other unidentified zoonoses, which can be transmitted to the host, causing harmful immune reactions from the Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy.

Moreover, cell culture is vital in biological research, but it is expensive due to the high price of fetal bovine serum. Major players in the market are manufacturing FBS, which is cost-effective. For instance, MilliporeSigma now offers a low-cost fetal bovine serum solution that supports industry quality standards. Their FBS offerings are classified as Select, Classic, or Premier FBS. This new fetal bovine serum classification approach delivers cost-effective, high-quality solutions to cell culture labs.

The market is segmented on application, end-use, and region. The application segment includes drug discovery, in-vitro fertilization, vaccine production, cell-based research, diagnostics, and others. The end-use segment is further segmented into pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, contract research organizations (CRO), academic and research organizations, and others.

One of the major factors driving the market is the increasing demand for FBS for R&D initiatives across numerous fields, particularly in the drug development and pharmaceutical domain. In addition, the rising prevalence of acute and chronic diseases worldwide and the effectivity of FBS are expected to increase the adoption of fetal bovine serum, ultimately augmenting the market growth during the review period.

Additionally, strategic activities by key market players further augment the market growth in the forecast period. For instance, In Sept 2020, Cytiva announced the expansion of its manufacturing capacity and hiring employees in significant areas to support the growth of the biotechnology industry. The company has planned an investment of around USD 500 million over five years to increase its manufacturing capacity. In addition, the company is hiring nearly 1,000 employees in Singapore, China, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and the U.S.

Fetal Bovine Serum Market Segmentation

Major companies operating in the market include Thermo Fisher Scientific; Merck KGaA; Sartorius AG; Cytiva; PAN-Biotech; HiMedia Laboratories; Bio-Techne and others.