Multus Biotechnology on Making Cultivated Meat Cheaper

January 27, 2023 | Biotechnology

With a global population of 8 billion, current global food systems are strained in terms of providing a sustainable, healthy diet, particularly in our dietary preference for livestock-based food.

Industry insiders might have seen this coming. While affordable and scalable meat is still probably years away from occupying supermarket shelves, startups are already collaborating in creating achievable cultivated fat, sausages, meatballs, and more. Cultivated meat, in particular, is known to be environmentally friendly, ethical, and a healthy alternative to conventional meat production - that’s why efforts are underway to make it cheaper. Conventionally, growth media are the most expensive component in cultivated meat production. And, in making cultivated meat sustainable and a budget-friendly choice for all, a unique approach to growth media plays a significant role.

After securing fresh funding from big ventures, London-based Multus Biotechnology is set to revolutionize the cultivated meat industry by significantly reducing production costs and advancing the commercial scale-up of the sector. The Series A funding is said to finance the development of the world’s first growth media facility for cultivated meat. The company already successfully launched its first product, Proliferum M, which is an all-in-one media that quashes the controversial fetal bovine serum still predominantly used in cultivated meat development.

Cai Linton, Multus’ CEO, expresses his excitement in using the funding to propel innovation in novel ingredient discovery, intelligent formulation design, and food-safe growth media production for the affordable scale-up of the cellular agriculture industry. The tech facilitates genuine sustainable alternatives to intensive animal farming, benefiting cultivated meat producers, consumers, and the environment.

The cultivated meat industry is prepped for commercialization as regulatory approval in key markets could come this year. Upside Foods, a California-based cultivated meat producer, has already earned the FDA’s GRAS status. And just recently, California’s Eat Just Good Meat division received the first regulatory approval for serum-free media granted by Singapore Food Agency. The company’s cultivated chicken approved back in 2020, is presently the only cultivated meat approved for sale in the world.