Executive Summary

• Versatile Cell Line Performance: Proliferum B demonstrated consistent results across bovine fibroblast and satellite cells, with doubling times of 15-25 hours matching or exceeding serum controls, proving its adaptability for diverse development workflows.
• Production Outsourcing Advantage: At a price point approximately 40% higher than in-house media, Proliferum B offers a fully animal-component-free solution that eliminates production costs, enabling developers to focus on core expertise while meeting regulatory requirements.
• Rapid Industry Adoption: Proliferum B's simple 1:1 replacement capability allows cell line developers to immediately eliminate serum while maintaining performance, accelerating the transition to sustainable cellular agriculture practices.

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Customer Overview

Opo Bio, founded in 2022 and based in New Zealand, specialises in enabling the cellular agriculture industry "from the cell up." With nine employees, they develop cell lines across multiple livestock species, focusing on bovine Angus and Wagyu lines. Their expertise spans fibroblasts, pre-adipocytes, and satellite cells optimised for commercial applications in cultivated meat and cell-based collagen.

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Their Challenge

Cell line developers need media formulations that support robust growth without animal components while remaining commercially viable. Opo Bio sought an off-the-shelf solution that would eliminate their time-intensive in-house media production while offering consistent performance across their diverse cell portfolio. Their transition from serum-containing media to animal-component-free alternatives aligned with their sustainability mission and regulatory requirements without compromising cell performance.

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Project Overview

Opo Bio evaluated Proliferum B with their proprietary bovine fibroblast and satellite (Opo-Moo) cell lines, benchmarking against serum-containing media in standard 6-well plates with vitronectin coating. They tested all four Proliferum B formulations in a 1:1 ratio with FBS while maintaining consistent supplementation of other media components. Success criteria focused on equivalent or improved doubling times compared to their serum-containing controls, with cell morphology serving as a secondary assessment metric.

"As a complete supplement, Proliferum B is incredibly user friendly and can be used as a 1:1 replacement for serum products. With Proliferum B, we can outsource media production at a similar price point to our in-house formulation while gaining the benefit of a fully animal component free (ACF) solution. This enables us to focus on our core expertise in cell line development rather than media optimisation." — Olivia Ogilvie, Co-Founder & CEO at Opo Bio

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Our Solution

Proliferum B (10X) is a panel of four ACF formulations, allowing companies to determine which works best for their specific conditions. Multus developed these ready-to-use solutions using their AI-driven platform for optimal cell attachment in traditional and demanding environments.

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The Results

Opo Bio observed consistent performance across their cell line panel, with Proliferum B matching or exceeding their serum controls:

Key performance highlights include:
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• Morphological Preservation: Cells in Proliferum B maintained characteristic fibroblastic and satellite morphologies with typical spindle-shaped extensions through P1-P7.
• Optimal Proliferation: Fibroblasts achieved 15-25 hour doubling times in PB01-PB04, comparable to controls (23 hours), with no adaptation period required.
• Cross-Lineage Consistency: Mesenchymal and myogenic populations showed stable growth parameters, with PB01 and PB04 demonstrating optimal performance.
• Extended Stability: Cells maintained consistent growth metrics over 20+ cumulative culture days, validating Proliferum B for long-term applications.

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Future Outlook

Opo Bio plans to expand Proliferum B testing to collagen assays where serum albumin causes interference, and intends to adopt it as their standard basal formulation pending further validation.

By enabling consistent performance across multiple cell types, Proliferum B creates a foundation for standardised, ethically-aligned cell development workflows that accelerate innovation while maintaining the reliability commercial partners demand from cell line providers.

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Technical Note: Proliferum B achieves its cross-cell type performance through a diverse range of growth factors and attachment proteins that work synergistically to support different cellular needs, while its plant-derived complex ingredients provide consistent growth support without the batch variability inherent in animal serum products.

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