What Biowest does

Biowest is a privately held French life sciences company founded in 1987 and headquartered in Nuaillé, France, that collects, processes, and distributes animal sera, cell culture media, and related reagents. The company operates a vertically integrated supply chain controlling raw serum collection across five geographic origins (Europe, South America, USA, Oceania, Africa) through filtration, treatment, packaging, and shipment, with full batch-level traceability and Certificate of Analysis documentation. Its product portfolio spans Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) and other animal sera, Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) variants, classical cell culture media (DMEM, RPMI 1640, MEM, IMDM, Ham's F10/F12, Leibovitz L-15, McCoy's 5A), specialized Cytogen media, salt solutions (DPBS, HBSS, EBSS), antibiotics, dissociation enzymes (Accutase, Trypsin), human-origin products, and a serum-free alternative line (FreeAdd).

The company generates revenue through one-time product sales distributed via a global network of authorized distributors, direct e-commerce on biowest.net, and a dedicated US sales subsidiary (Biowest USA, Bradenton, FL). Customers are segmented horizontally across biopharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturers, academic and government research institutions, and industrial research/diagnostics customers, with pricing handled via quote request rather than public listing. Biowest holds ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016 certifications, EDQM certification for Biopharm grade serum, and was awarded the EcoVadis Bronze Medal in 2025. The company has been a subsidiary of Serascandia Group since 2004, was a winner of the France Recovery Plan MESPRCC project in 2023, and actively participates in major trade shows (Analytica, Euromit, MEDICA, Arablab, ForumLabo).

Name

Biowest

Legal name

Biowest France

Website

https://biowest.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Biowest, founded in 1987 in France, collects, processes, and globally distributes animal sera (notably FBS), cell culture media, BSA, and reagents. It serves biopharmaceutical manufacturers, vaccine producers, academic researchers, and diagnostics companies under ISO-certified, vertically integrated quality systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cell Culture Products & Animal Sera

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Upstream Bioprocessing Systems & Equipment (cell culture/fermentation, bioreactors, feeds/media) (HLAAAJAA)

Keywords

• Fetal bovine serum
• Cell culture media
• Animal sera processing
• Cell culture reagents
• Bovine serum albumin

Headquarters

HQ city

Nuaillé

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Animal Sera and Plasma Products: Sale of fetal bovine serum (FBS), other animal sera, and plasma products sourced globally with full traceability and certification. Products include various origins (Europe, South America, USA, Oceania, Africa) with different grades and treatments.
2. Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA): Sale of BSA products including Fraction V in various forms: 30% liquid, lyophilized pH ~7, fatty acids free, and protease free lyophilized.
3. Cell Culture Media: Sale of standard and custom cell culture media formulations including DMEM, RPMI 1640, MEM, IMDM, Ham's F10/F12, and specialized media for specific cell types.
4. Cell Culture Reagents: Sale of cell culture reagents including Accutase, trypsin, glutamine, antibiotics (Gentamicin, Penicillin-Streptomycin, Amphotericin B), and salt solutions.
5. Human Origin Products: Sale of HIV-tested human serum, pooled human plasma, and human serum albumin products collected from voluntary donors in compliance with European regulations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Biowest collects, processes, and distributes animal sera (notably Fetal Bovine Serum), plasma, and bovine serum albumin, along with cell culture media, reagents, salt solutions, and antibiotics for life sciences research, biopharmaceutical production, and vaccine manufacturing. It operates a vertically integrated supply chain ensuring full traceability from collection to final product delivery.

Product overview

Biowest is a life sciences company specializing in animal-derived products for cell culture applications. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio centered around sera (particularly Fetal Bovine Serum), cell culture media, reagents, salt solutions, and antibiotics. The core product lines include Sera & Plasma (FBS, animal sera, BSA, human products), Cell Culture Media (including DMEM, RPMI 1640, MEM, and specialized formulations), Cell Culture Reagents (Accutase, Trypsin, Glutamine), Salt Solutions (DPBS, HBSS, EBSS), and Antibiotics. Each product category serves the life sciences research, biopharmaceutical production, and vaccine development sectors. The company's value proposition centers on quality control, full traceability, and ethical sourcing, with vertical integration ensuring complete supply chain oversight from collection to delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FreeAdd: Serum-free alternative product line for cell culture applications
• Cytogen Media Line
• Bioguard
• Accutase

Products and services

• Sera & Plasma Comprehensive range of animal sera including Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS), serum alternatives, other animal sera, animal plasma, and treated sera. Each batch is rigorously controlled with a Certificate of Analysis and full traceability, for life sciences research and biopharmaceutical production.
• Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) Premium Fetal Bovine Serum sourced from various geographic origins including Europe, South America, USA, Africa, and Oceania, subject to strict quality controls and traceability.
• Treated Sera Specially treated serum products including heat-inactivated, dialyzed, lipid-depleted, gamma-irradiated, IgG-depleted, pH-treated, and extracellular vesicle-depleted variants.
• Human Products HIV-tested human serum, HIV-tested male AB human serum, pooled human plasma, and human serum albumin, collected from voluntary donors and processed in accordance with European regulations.
• Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) A 66kDa protein present in animal serum available in Fraction V variants including 30% Liquid, Lyophilised pH ~7, Fatty Acids Free, and Protease Free, used in immunochemistry, Western Blot, and ELISA applications.
• Cell Culture Media Complete range of cell culture media formulations including BME, CMRL 1066, DMEM, GMEM, Ham (F10, F12), IMDM, Leibovitz L-15, McCoy's 5A, Medium 199, MEM, RPMI 1640, Schneider's Drosophila Medium, and special media, all subject to rigorous quality control.
• DMEM (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium) Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium available in High Glucose and Low Glucose variants, with formulations including F12 combination, with/without L-Glutamine, Pyruvate, and HEPES.
• RPMI 1640 Roswell Park Memorial Institute medium 1640, widely used for cell culture, immunology, cancer research, and drug development applications.
• Special Media Specialized media formulations including CytogenMarrow (MGM), CytogenLympho (LGM), CytogenAmnio (AGM), and CytogenPrena (PPM) for specific cell type applications.
• Custom Media Formulation Custom cell culture media formulations produced to meet specific customer requirements, with minimum production quantities of 50 liters.
• Cell Culture Reagents & Others Essential cell culture reagents including Accutase, Bioguard, Cell Culture Water, Colcemid, Glucose, Glutamine, Lymphosep, MEM concentrates, Mycokit, and Trypsin.
• Trypsin Cell dissociation enzyme available in various concentrations including 0.25%, 2.5%, recombinant trypsin-EDTA, and lyophilized formulations for cell detachment applications.
• Accutase Proteolytic and collagenolytic enzyme mixture used for gentle cell detachment, maintaining cell viability and surface proteins intact.
• FreeAdd (Serum Alternative) Serum-free alternative for cell culture applications, providing a defined supplement option for cells requiring specific culture conditions.
• Salt Solutions Salt solutions including DPBS, EBSS, HBSS, HEPES, and PBS that maintain osmolarity and buffering effect on pH in cell culture applications.
• DPBS (Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline) Phosphate buffered saline solution available with/without Calcium and Magnesium, in liquid and 10X concentrate formulations.
• Antibiotics Antibiotics for preventing or eliminating bacterial contamination in cell cultures, including Amphotericin B, Antibiotic-Antimycotic, G-418, Gentamicin Sulfate, Glutamine-Penicillin-Streptomycin, and Nanomycopulitine.
• Gentamicin Sulfate Antibiotic available in 10mg/ml and 50mg/ml solutions that binds to the 30S subunit of bacterial ribosomes to disrupt protein synthesis, used for preventing bacterial contamination in cell and tissue culture.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• European Serum Products Association (ESPA)moderateOthersBiowest participates in ESPA, an association that promotes safe serum use, connects companies in the serum processing industry within EU and Non-EU countries, and represents their interests. The association aims to harmonize regulations and ensure industry standards.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cytiva: Cytiva (formerly GE Healthcare Life Sciences) supplies sera, media, and bioreactor/upstream bioprocessing solutions to biopharma manufacturers. Directly comparable to Biowest on FBS, media, and cell culture reagents, with the additional ability to bundle upstream equipment into enterprise agreements.
• Lonza Bioscience: Lonza is a leading global CDMO and supplier of cell culture media, sera, and primary cells. Overlaps with Biowest on cell culture inputs for biopharma and cell therapy applications, and competes for the same biopharma customer base.
• Corning Life Sciences: Corning's Life Sciences segment supplies cell culture media, sera, and plastic consumables used in research and bioprocessing. Direct competitor on cell culture media and FBS, with a complementary plasticware portfolio that broadens its enterprise offering.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Gibco): Gibco, the life-sciences cell culture brand of Thermo Fisher, is the global market leader in fetal bovine serum, cell culture media, and reagents. Both companies sell overlapping sera, media, and reagent portfolios into biopharma and academic customers; Thermo Fisher operates at vastly greater scale and across a much wider product portfolio.
• Merck KGaA (Sigma-Aldrich / Merck Millipore): Merck's Life Science division (including legacy Sigma-Aldrich and MilliporeSigma) is a top-tier global supplier of cell culture media, sera, salts, and reagents. Direct overlap with Biowest's FBS, media, salt solutions, and antibiotics portfolios, served through a similarly global distribution model but with materially larger scale.

Direct peers

• Bovogen Biologicals: Bovogen is an Australian specialist in FBS and other animal sera, similar in scale and specialization to Biowest. Both companies focus on traceable, ethically sourced bovine sera for research and biopharma customers globally.
• TCS Biosciences: TCS Biosciences is a European supplier of animal sera, cell culture media, and diagnostic reagents. Overlaps with Biowest on sera and media portfolios, primarily serving UK and European diagnostics and research customers.
• PAN-Biotech: PAN-Biotech is a German manufacturer of cell culture media, sera, and reagents with a comparable European origin and product breadth. Direct peer to Biowest across serum, media, and reagent product lines serving European biopharma and academic customers.

Emerging players

• Animal Technologies Inc. Smaller specialist suppliers of animal-derived cell culture products (sera and plasma) targeting niche research and biopharma segments. Comparable product mix to Biowest's core sera range though with narrower geographic reach and scale.

Regional players

• Euroclone: Euroclone is an Italian life sciences distributor and producer of cell culture media and reagents primarily serving Southern European markets. Comparable product set to Biowest, with overlapping distribution footprint in Mediterranean Europe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BiowestSerum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/biowest
• Xx.com/biowestserum

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Biowest