Invitrogen, a division of Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:LIFE), announced today that it has launched KNOCKOUT™ SR XenoFree Media for use in the culture of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

Until now, most of the research carried out on hESCs has used mouse-derived feeder cells and culture media containing components derived from bovine sources. Ideally, hESCs research and its translation to therapy would be performed without the use of components from other species, which prevents the contamination of hESC lines with non-human proteins that can raise regulatory questions as stem cell research moves into clinical applications.

“In order to avoid introducing contaminating proteins into human embryonic stem cells, scientists have been working for years to develop a reliable media without foreign proteins,” said Joydeep Goswami, Vice President of Primary and Stem Cell Systems at Life Technologies. “KNOCKOUT™ SR XenoFree Media economically achieves this goal and will give researchers a more regulatory-friendly media in which to advance potentially ground-breaking stem cell therapies towards the clinic. This product is yet another example of how our research allows scientists to better advance the important work being done in regenerative medicine.”

KNOCKOUT™ SR XenoFree Media is based on KNOCKOUT™ SR, the gold standard reagent for the maintenance of undifferentiated hESCs while maintaining pluripotency, with more than 200 publications documenting its use. All components are either human-derived or synthetic, resulting in a completely xenogeneic-free formulation.

More information about KNOCKOUT™ SR XenoFree Media can be found at www.invitrogen.com/stemcell/ksrxf.