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Serum-Free Vaccine Cell Culture Components

Regulatory-Friendly Production of Viral Vaccine Components in VERO Cells

The future of viral-vaccine production lies in scalability, rapid development and production cycles, dependable yields and formulation strategies that increase shelf-life and stability of the final product. The mammalian continuous cell line VERO has been developed to satisfy vaccine production requirements and is fast becoming preferred over egg-based methods for industrial-scale production of viral products. The composition of the cell culture media is critical to the regulatory success of VERO-derived viral vaccine products so the regulatory success of VERO-derived viral vaccine products are the composition of the cell culture media in which they are grown and the purity and safety of final formulation excipients; media supplements based on bovine serum-derived products or plant hydrolysates are poorly controlled and include undefined additives that may complicate manufacturing and regulatory compliance.

InVitria’s fully recombinant human serum protein supplements, chemically defined media, and excipients are optimized for regulatory-friendly, serum-free growth and maintenance of VERO cells, and commercial-scale production and formulation of viral particles for vaccine applications. All products are manufactured biosynthetically in the US, using recombinant DNA technology in an animal-free host, in an ISO 9001:2015 certified facility. These products are suitable for RUO and cGMP uses and enable the reduction or elimination of serum, serum-purified proteins, and serum-derived contaminants from cell culture media at any scale.

InVitria’s Products:

  • Reduce or eliminate the introduction of animal-derived, viral RNA and DNA, prion proteins, undefined antigenic molecules, and animal-derived cytokines and hormones.
  • Provide more consistent and scalable cell expansion and performance in culture, and higher viral titers, product validation, and clinical safety of downstream clinical products
  • Stabilize viral particles for storage and injection without concern for introducing undefined substances into the final formulation
  • Eliminate concerns about the fluctuating global agricultural supply chain and limitations on availability of bovine serum

InVitria products for vaccine-related applications include:

OptiVERO Complete Media

OptiVERO complete media is a pre-formulated, serum-free, chemically defined medium optimized for both traditional tissue culture flasks and scalable bioreactor formats. OptiVERO Complete promotes superior expansion kinetics of VERO cells as well as enhanced viral titers for clinical and commercial manufacturing. OptiVERO Complete takes the guesswork out of transitioning quickly and painlessly to regulatory-friendly, serum-reduced or serum-free cell culture for your RUO or cGMP needs. Read more…

OptiVERO Complete has been tested for its ability to support optimal VERO-based production of clinically relevant viruses, including:

  • Influenza A
  • Influenza B
  • Dengue
  • Zika

Animal-Free, Serum-Free Cell Culture Components and Supplements:

  • Cellastim S recombinant human albumin to replace BSA or purified human albumin in VERO cell culture.
  • Optiferrin recombinant human transferrin for managing iron in serum-free or serum-reduced culture applications.
  • Insulin-transferrin supplements to provide supplemental rh-insulin rh-transferrin, and selenium, with or without ethanolamine and rh-albumin for serum-free or serum-reduced culture applications.

Exbumin Recombinant Human Serum Albumin – The First rHSA Approved for Excipient Applications by FDA and EMA

  • InVitria excipient-grade, regulatory-friendly recombinant human serum albumin is manufactured in an animal-free host and has been approved for use in the final formulation of injectable biologics by both the FDA and the EMA, with data from more than 250,000 safe human injections. For example, Exbumin is incorporated into the first FDA and EMA approved Ebola vaccine – ERVEBO. Exbumin is also used to enhance viral titer and viability in biomanufacturing processes.

At a Glance: InVitria Products for Vaccine Applications

NameFunctionRecombinantHuman sequenceAnimal FreeBlood FreeIgG FreeAvailable grades
Defined, Complete Cell-Culture Media Solutions
OptiVEROSerum-free or serum-reduced culture of VERO cells, for propagation and production of adeno-associated virus and lentivirus vectors for cell therapy applications in tissue culture and bioreactors✅✅✅✅✅cGMP
Excipients and Individual Cell Culture Components
ExbuminExcipient-grade, animal-free, serum-free recombinant human albumin to improve stability of viral particles during commercial production. Exbumin is approved for use as an excipient in injectable vaccines and therapeutics.✅✅✅✅✅cGMP
Cellastim SAnimal-free, serum-free recombinant human albumin to replace BSA and FBS in serum-free or serum-reduced culture of viral host cells.✅✅✅✅✅cGMP
OptiferrinAnimal-free, serum-free recombinant human transferrin for iron nutrition and management in serum-free or serum-reduced culture of viral host cells.✅✅✅✅✅cGMP
ITS, ITSE, ITSE+A Insulin-Transferrin SupplementsProvides supplemental rh-insulin rh-transferrin, and selenium, with or without ethanolamine and rh-albumin for serum-free or serum-reduced culture of viral host cells.✅✅✅✅✅cGMP

*All protein components included in InVitria’s media products are fully human in sequence, recombinant, and expressed in a non-animal host. All processing and packaging steps are fully free of animal components and are produced in the US, using cGMP standards in an ISO 9001:2015 certified facility.

Related Resources

Resource Type Title Cell Lines Relevance
Application Note Cellastim S – Reconstitution Application Note Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Hematopoetic Stem Cells, T Lymphocyte, HEK293, VERO Reconstitution protocol for Cellastim S in vaccine cell culture workflows.
Application Note rHSA Reconstitution Video Protocol — Video walkthrough of rHSA reconstitution.
Application Note Safe, Consistent Iron Delivery in Serum-Free Systems with Optiferrin® Recombinant Transferrin Hybridoma Iron delivery in defined media for vaccine cell substrates.
Application Note Exbumin – Reconstitution Application Note — Step-by-step Exbumin reconstitution protocol for vaccine and viral therapy applications.
Application Note OptiVERO – Virus Production Using VERO Cells in Flasks without Serum in Chemically Defined Cell Culture Media Application Note VERO OptiVERO supports VERO cell growth and virus production in 2D flasks comparable to or better than FBS.
Application Note Exbumin – Stabilizing Virus with Albumin to Improve Yield Application Note HEK293, VERO Exbumin improves viral yield across HEK293, VERO, MDCK, MRC-5, A549, Wi38, CEF, and Sf9 production cell lines.
Application Note OptiVERO – Virus Production Using VERO Cells with Microcarriers Without Serum in Chemically Defined Cell Culture Media VERO OptiVERO supports VERO cell growth and virus production on microcarriers — commercial-scale vaccine production.
Application Note Reducing Serum-Associated Contaminants from Growth Media in Primary Cell Culture — ITSE+A serum replacement for primary cell culture in vaccine workflows.
Application Note OptiVERO – Expansion of VERO Cells Without Serum in Chemically Defined Cell Culture Media VERO OptiVERO supports VERO cell expansion in flasks and microcarriers comparable to FBS.
White Paper VERO Expansion in the iCellis® Bioreactor with Chemically Defined and Blood Free Virus Production Media VERO OptiVERO performance in Pall iCELLis fixed-bed bioreactor — supports commercial-scale vaccine production.
White Paper Optimizing the Performance of LNP and Liposome Therapeutics with Blood-Free Recombinant Albumin — Relevance for mRNA vaccine LNP formulations.
White Paper Emergence of Blood-Free Recombinant Human Albumin — Foundational rHSA white paper covering vaccine applications.
White Paper Optiferrin – Recombinant Transferrin an Iron Transport Protein in Cell Culture Media — Foundational Optiferrin overview covering vaccine cell substrates.
Poster Formulation of a Blood-Free and Chemically Defined Virus Production Media for VERO Cells Poster VERO OptiVERO supports VERO cell expansion in 2D and 3D culture with equivalent or higher Dengue, Zika, and influenza yields vs FBS.
Poster Advancing Vaccine Excellence VERO Visual summary: how OptiVERO, Cellastim S, and Exbumin together solve contamination, supply, and cold-chain challenges.
Poster Addressing Vaccine Stability And Cold Chain Challenges With Recombinant Human Serum Albumin To Enable Global Administration — rHSA stabilizes Dengue, influenza, and viral vector vaccines through cold storage and freeze-thaw cycles.
Poster Virus Yield Improvement for Downstream Processing: Exbumin®, Excipient Recombinant Albumin — Exbumin improves viral yield in tangential flow filtration, depth filtration, chromatography, and sterile filtration.
Case Study How Merck Used Recombinant Albumin in ERVEBO to Establish a Novel Excipient Pathway — First FDA-approved use of rice-derived rHSA as a novel excipient in a human injectable vaccine.
Journal Articles (DOI Links) Formulation and Production of a Blood-free and Chemically Defined Virus Production Media for VERO Cells VERO Peer-reviewed (Biotechnology and Bioengineering) publication on OptiVERO development.
Webinar GEN Webinar: Why Cell Quality Erodes During Downstream Processing — and How to Prevent It — Practical insights on raw material selection during downstream processing.
Webinar Accelerating Vaccine Development Through Use of Blood-Free Components — GEN webinar on accelerating vaccine development using blood-free, chemically defined components.
Blog Supply Chain Resilience: The Fragility and Finite Nature of Serum-Derived Raw Materials — FBS supply constraints and the implications for vaccine manufacturing.
Blog Safety and Contamination Risks: The Testing Burden and Persistent Threats — Why regulatory bodies are pushing away from animal-derived materials in vaccine manufacturing.
Blog Variability and Failed Lots: The Hidden Quality Control Challenge of Serum & Serum-Derived Products — Lot-to-lot variability in serum-derived materials affecting vaccine manufacturing.
Blog Consistency Is the New Compliance — Regulatory expectations for traceability of human- and animal-derived components in vaccines.
Blog Why Do Some Biologics Cross the Finish Line—While Others Crash and Burn? — Chiron Fluvirin contamination case and why animal-origin-free alternatives matter.
Blog How Regulatory Bodies Are Driving the Shift to Animal-Origin-Free Solutions in Cell Therapy and Vaccine Development — Regulatory expectations for animal-origin-free components in vaccine manufacturing.
News InVitria and Cellevate Partner on Vaccine Manufacturing — Strategic collaboration with Cellevate to develop scalable, defined upstream solutions for vaccine manufacturing.
News InVitria Launches Optibumin 25 rHSA — Optibumin 25 launch announcement.
  • Exbumin® – Recombinant human albumin excipient
  • Cellastim® S – Recombinant human albumin
  • Optiferrin® – Recombinant human transferrin
  • OptiVERO®

OptiVERO - Serum-Free Chemically Defined Medium for Adherent VERO Expansion

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