ZenBio, Inc. industry leader in robust cell-based solutions, announced today the worldwide release of a new GroProâ„¢ Cell Culture Growth Supplement. The GroProâ„¢ product line allows for culturing of primary cells and cell lines without the concern for transmission of bovine prions and xenogeneic reactions.

“The new GroPro line delivers higher standards of purity, more affordable cell culture solutions in biomedical research,” said Dr. John W. Ludlow, Executive Director of Regenerative Medicine at ZenBio “Our goal was to formulate a growth supplement that would address the ongoing requirement to remove animal products by the FDA in specific applications while reducing costs for today’s budget conscience lab.”

This new GroPro supplement is a convenient, ready-to-use human platelet lysate (HPL) formulation that can be used at the same supplementation percentages as fetal bovine serum (FBS) in traditional cultures. HPL has proven to be an excellent cost effective substitute for FBS in cell culture growth medium without the risk of xenogeneic infections or immune reactions.

“Currently, the use of HPL in culture medium requires the addition of heparin to prevent alloimmune aggregation which can create visible clots in the medium,” said Will Plentl, Chief Operating Officer at ZenBio. “The GroPro product line does not require the use of heparin thus reducing deleterious downstream effects, yet formulated to be used at normal FBS concentrations.”