Converting to animal-origin-free peptones with 2- to 5-fold improved bacterial growth

Tuesday 08:00 PDT / 11:00 EDT / 16:00 BST / 17:00 CEST

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Converting to animal-origin-free peptones with 2- to 5-fold improved bacterial growth

Converting animal-origin (AO) media to animal-origin free (AOF) formulations presents a common challenge for upstream process scientists, particularly when working with highly fastidious bacterial species used in vaccine production and other applications.

Drawing on comparative data from Neisseria meningitidis culture optimization, this session will contrast peptone substitution alone against combined peptone and media reformulation strategies, revealing the performance differential between approaches and providing a practical framework for selecting the most effective pathway for your application.

Data set 1: a peptone-substitution only approach to converting AO medium with additional CD (chemically defined) supplement to AOF without CD supplement, demonstrating ~2X improvement in growth performance.

Data set 2: a combined peptone-substitution and reformulation approach to the same challenge, with ~5X improvement in growth performance.

Attend this webinar to learn about:

A systematic screening approach for identifying the AOF peptone that delivers optimal nutritional fit for different bacterial species and applications
Solutions for traditionally difficult bacterial species for vaccine applications like bioproduction of polysaccharide-antigens or toxoid proteins
Meeting the increasing expectations around raw material traceability, animal-origin risk mitigation, and regional market expectations without compromising process performance

Elizabeth O'Hanlon

Staff Scientist, Research & Development at Thermo Fisher Scientific

Elizabeth (Bizzy) O'Hanlon is an R&D Staff Scientist who has been with Thermo Fisher Scientific since 2019. She holds a doctoral degree in Biology from Johns Hopkins University, and prior to joining Thermo Fisher Scientific, her work focused on the biophysics of the protective/therapeutic potential of the human microbiome. She has a particular interest in ‘unculturable’ bacterial species. At Thermo Fisher Scientific, she works on the development of upstream media, supplement and feed formulations, upstream processes, and knowledge resources to support customers in the microbial bioproduction space, especially those utilizing challenging or non-traditional bacterial, yeast, or fungal platforms.

Chris Titensor

Senior Product Manager, AOF Peptones at Thermo Fisher Scientific

Chris Titensor is a Senior Product Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific. He has been with Thermo Fisher since 2018, serving in roles across finance, strategy, marketing, and product management. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics. At Thermo Fisher Scientific, Chris leads the global product strategy for animal-origin-free (AOF) peptones. His work focuses on expanding access to regulatory-aligned raw materials that enable scalable and consistent upstream bioprocessing. Chris partners closely with R&D and commercial teams to translate customer needs into innovative product solutions and to drive broader adoption of AOF peptones across biologics, cell therapies, and vaccine manufacturing.

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