ProFuse Technology, an Israeli biotech specializing in muscle tissue growth, announces the launch of a new bovine cell line for cultivating beef.
Branded as PROFUSE-B8 and claimed as a pioneering development, the cell line arises from spontaneously immortalized bovine myoblast cells without using genetic modification technology.
As explained by the firm, the bovine cell line has undergone extensive research and testing over two years, resulting in a stable and robust foundation for developing scalable and repeatable muscle-growing processes. Moreover, when combined with the PROFUSE-S1, a muscle differentiation media supplement, the B8 cell line is said to accelerate muscle tissue production, increasing efficiency in shorter times.
Enhancing muscle growth
Established in 2021 by Tamar Eigler-Hirsh, CTO and co-founder, and Guy Nevo Michrowski, the company’s CEO; ProFuse Technology specializes in creating solutions for muscle growth in the cultivated meat and life science industries. In October 2022, the company secured $3 million in seed funding led by Green-Circle, a New York-based food tech fund.
Furthermore, ProFuse Technology collaborates with other companies, either integrating its solutions into their production processes or for technology developments.
One example is the company’s scaffolding 3D growth technology, developed in partnership with the Estonian nanofibers technology firm Gelatex Technologies. This scaffolding tech is said to enhance muscle growth time fivefold, allowing cultivated meat production within 48 hours and reducing the usual time by 80% when used along with ProFuse’s cell culture media and growth protocols.
The future of cell-based foods
The Israeli firm also announced that it is actively developing additional muscle production-optimized cell lines tailored for chicken, pork, lamb, and fish to expand cultivated meat products further.
The launch of PROFUSE-B8 brings opportunities for new developments because very few commercial cell lines are available. And as the Good Food Institute highlights, sourcing cells is challenging for cultivated meat companies.
In a similar field, the UK-based company Extracellular, in partnership with the British biotechnology company Multus, launched license-free cell banks last year, offering cow, pig, and sheep primary cells to support cultivated meat R&D.
Eigler-Hirsh comments: “Our dedication to innovation and productivity is evident in the development of this breakthrough cell line, and we are confident it will shape the future of cell-based protein production.”
PROFUSE-B8 is already available for licensing.
