The global serum-free media market size is expected to reach USD 4.05 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 13.7% from 2025 to 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The rising prevalence of infectious and chronic diseases, coupled with the growing focus on cell-based therapeutics, is increasing the market's growth prospects. In addition, growing funding for the cell-based research is the key factor driving the serum-free media market.

The use of serum-free media has increased considerably during the past 15 years. This is mainly true in industrial applications, wherein the use of serum during the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals poses a risk to safety and a source of unwanted contamination. Moreover, Serum-free cell culture media improves the experimental constancy by reducing the number of unknown culture components and the effects of unknown growth factors, hormones, and vitamins.

In addition, serum-free media has numerous advantages, such as reducing the cost and inconvenience of batch testing sera, eliminating the uncertainty about global supply fluctuations, and simplifying downstream processing and purification, another major factor driving the market growth.

Although CAR T-cell therapies have made breakthroughs in treating hematological malignancies, their accessibility to patients is constrained by the complexity and expense of their manufacturing. Beyond the effectiveness of your CAR-T product, one difficulty in CAR T-cell production is achieving constant growth of T cells made available following gene transfer. Therefore, optimizing the media to stimulate T-cell proliferation is one of the most important factors.

Yet, creating media that permits constant growth while meeting regulatory quality criteria has proven challenging. However, new developments in cell culture techniques have enhanced output and functionality in CAR T-cell workflows utilizing serum-free media, enabling the construction of large-scale regulatory-compliant processes capable of producing billions of T cells quickly.

For instance, the Vero cell line, which was derived from the kidney of an African green monkey, has been widely applied to the production of viral vaccines. Moreover, it has been utilized to manufacture several SARS-CoV variants. For instance, Lonza Bioscience's ProVeroTM1 Serum-free Medium is a protein-free non-animal origin medium intended to support the development of Vero cells and MDCK. In addition, HEKin1, manufactured by HiMedia Labs, was used to manufacture COVISHIELD, a COVID-19 vaccine containing recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein. This vaccine has been manufactured using genetically modified HEK293 cells.

On the other hand, the slow growth rate of SFM as compared to the serum media, and the requirement of different cell types to prepare specific media formulations and cell clumping when passaging can be the restraining factors.

Serum-free Media Market Report Highlights

• Based on product, CHO media dominated the market and accounted for a share of 30.9% in 2024, driven by their essential role in biopharmaceutical production.
• Based on application, biopharmaceutical production led the market with a revenue share of 73.7% in 2024, owing to the need for efficient, consistent cell culture systems in drug development.
• Based on end-use, pharmaceutical biotechnology companies held the largest revenue share of 57.9% in 2024. These companies need serum-free media to maintain a controlled, defined environment for cell culture, thereby enhancing product quality and consistency.
• Based on type, liquid media dominated the market with a revenue share of 63.1% in 2024, attributed to their significant advantages in cell culture applications.
• North America serum-free media market dominated the global market with a revenue share of 38.6% in 2024. North America features a robust healthcare infrastructure, substantial biopharmaceutical investments, and a concentration of industry leaders.
• Asia Pacific serum-free media market is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 16.9% over the forecast period. Countries in the region prioritize developing innovative therapies and vaccines to tackle escalating healthcare challenges, including chronic diseases.

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Serum-free Media Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global serum-free media market on the basis of on product, application, end-use, type, and region:

Serum-free Media Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

• CHO Media
• HEK 293 Media
• BHK Medium
• Vero Medium
• Stem Cell Medium
• Other Serum-free Media

Serum-free Media Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

• Biopharmaceutical Production
  • Monoclonal Antibodies
  • Vaccines Production
  • Other Therapeutic Proteins
• Tissue Engineering Regenerative Medicine

Serum-free Media End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

• Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Companies
• Research Academic Institutes
• Others

Serum-free Media Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

• Liquid Media
• Semi-solid Solid Media

Serum-free Media Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • UK
  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Denmark
  • Sweden
  • Norway
• Asia Pacific
  • Japan
  • China
  • India
  • Australia
  • South Korea
  • Thailand
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
• Middle East Africa
  • South Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • Kuwait

Key Players in the Serum-free Media Market

• Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
• Sartorius AG
• Merck KGaA
• Lonza
• Danaher Corporation
• FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation
• MP BIOMEDICALS
• Corning Incorporated
• PAN-Biotech
• RD Systems, Inc

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