Merck’s contribution in the field of Cultured Meat

It is estimated that the world population will increase by 2 billion people during the next 30 years, reaching 9.7 billion people in 2050, according to United Nations. For this reason, among others, it is estimated that by that same year the demand for meat consumption will increase by up to 70%2.  This fact brings to the forefront the problem of resource scarcity and, therefore, the need to seek new sources of quality proteins apart from meat and poultry.

From the Darmstadt Innovation Center, Merck has ongoing research lines related to the management of resource scarcity and is driving innovation in the industrial field of 'clean meat' as a healthy, ethical and more planet-friendly alternative. 

‘Cultivated meat', also referred to as clean meat or cell-based meat, is a type of food that is not composed of meat but is derived from animal stem cells and seeks to replicate the sensations and experience of eating meat: the same texture, taste and colour as real meat.

As a leading supplier of the biopharmaceutical industry, Merck has the knowledge in science and biotechnology and the development skills required to produce this type of meat. Through open innovation models with companies from different fields, star-tups, etc., Merck enables other companies seeking to commercialize clean meat to face the technological challenges ahead. 

This way, Merck offers the necessary reagents and equipment for the cell growth process (cell culture media, growth factors, monitoring tools and bioreactors) and serves the stem cell industry with cell lines and analytical tools.

Furthermore, Merck's research lines also include projects to design and commercialize animal cruelty free formulations and other developments of solutions for cell culture at scale by using industrial perfusion bioreactors, as well as the use of cutting-edge technologies such as 3D printing.

The 'clean meat' industry has multiple benefits for society: animal health and welfare, lower greenhouse gas emissions, less use of water, arable land and energy, better and easier control of the sanitary conditions of its production.