Quotes from AgFunderNews, March 14, 2024
Cultivated meat industry trends and actions
In light of a significant reduction in investment last year and the decision of key industry figures to delay the establishment of expansive operations, the question arises: what strategies will lab-grown meat need to employ to evolve from an exclusive gastronomic product to a mass-market solution that could potentially replace traditional livestock farming?
During a recent event organized by The Good Food Institute, Dr. Elliot Swartz, who leads research in cultivated meat, discussed the current challenges faced by the industry, likening it to a common dilemma where progress in one area depends on advancements in another.
In the words of Dr. Dave Humbird, a chemical engineer and engineering consultant, the commercial viability of certain products is questionable unless they become widely consumed.
Swartz points out that the current high prices of growth factors, such as FGF2, IGF1, and TGFb, used in cell culture media for cultivated meat production, are primarily due to market limitations rather than technological ones. There isn’t a demand from any single manufacturer for these proteins in kilogram quantities yet.
The expansion of suppliers is intrinsically linked to the progression of the cultivated meat sector they supply. This interdependence naturally caps the speed at which certain expenses can diminish. Capital investors are unlikely to fund the establishment of numerous large-scale production sites for growth factors—costly proteins utilized in some media recipes—if the current demand only justifies a handful.
He pointed out that in rapidly multiplying cells, the majority of cellular mass is constituted by amino acids, which are also components of basal media used in lab-grown meat production. Currently, the amino acids supplied to nourish these cells are predominantly derived from individual fermentation processes, with only a handful being produced at a scale that’s considered adequate.
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