Thermo Fisher expands chemically defined media for E. coli biomanufacturing

Thermo Fisher Scientific, a Waltham, Massachusetts–headquartered life sciences tools and services company, has launched two new chemically defined (CD) microbial media products aimed at improving productivity and consistency in Escherichia coli–based biomanufacturing.

The new formulations — Gibco Bacto CD Supreme FPM Plus and Gibco Bacto CD Supreme Feed (2X) — expand the company’s Gibco Bacto CD portfolio and are designed to support plasmid DNA and recombinant protein production across development and commercial manufacturing. The products are hydrolysate-free and animal origin–free, a design intended to reduce variability, simplify regulatory documentation, and improve reproducibility at scale, according to the announcement.

Thermo Fisher said the new media system is engineered to support high-density E. coli cultures in batch and fed-batch processes and is compatible with a broad range of commonly used strains, including DH10B, BL21(DE3), NEB Stable, Stbl2, Stbl3, and JM109. When used together, the company reported the formulations can deliver up to 120% higher plasmid DNA yields compared with terrific broth paired with lab-prepared feeds.

The products are intended to help biopharma manufacturers and CDMOs manage rising demand for plasmid DNA driven by growth in gene therapy and mRNA vaccine pipelines, while maintaining predictable performance from early development through commercial scale.

The media launch follows a series of recent investments by Thermo Fisher aimed at expanding its global bioprocessing and advanced therapies footprint. In Asia, the company recently opened a new bioprocess design center in Hyderabad, India and expanded existing facilities in Incheon, Korea and Singapore to provide localized technical support for biologics, vaccine and cell and gene therapy developers.

In the U.S., Thermo Fisher opened a new Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center in Philadelphia in November, marking its second ATxCC location nationwide following the launch of its Carlsbad, California site earlier in 2025. 

The Philadelphia center, located within the BioLabs Advanced Therapeutics incubator, is designed to provide startups and biopharma companies with access to Thermo Fisher scientists, process development technologies, and collaboration space to accelerate cell and gene therapy development, the company said.