More Protein Targets More Cell Cultures
The dramatic rise in the number of cell expression grows, culture volumes and expressed protein targets during the last five years.
Our magnificent Cell Culture team form the bedrock of the services we provide to you, our customers. Whether that is producing recombinant proteins to support a full drug discovery campaign or developing methods to produce the particular form of a protein that will crystallise. In this blog Mark Elvin describes how the requests for cell culture support have grown over recent years in number, volume and the diversity of protein targets we are producing.
Over the past five years, the cell culture market has experienced remarkable growth, driven by advancements in biotechnology, increased demand for biopharmaceuticals, and the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This period has seen significant developments in cell culture techniques, applications, and market expansion.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated the demand for cell culture products as companies worldwide utilised cell culture techniques to develop vaccines, therapeutic tools, and diagnostic kits. This surge in demand prompted companies to expand their production capacities and this is no different for us in the Protein Science & Structural Biology Department at Sygnature Discovery. Over the last five years we have invested significantly in expanding our cell culture capabilities to be able to increase the number of cell lines we offer for expression (currently we have 3 insect cell lines (Sf9/Sf21/Hi5), 4 mammalian cell lines (HEK293-6E, Expi293F, CHO-3E7, ExpiCHO-S) and numerous E. coli strains). This allows us to select the most appropriate expression cell line for the target protein we are aiming to produce. Of course, in parallel we have had to increase the number of specialised incubators and wave systems used to grow these different cell types with their different requirements to support growth. Finally, our dedicated team of cell scientists have used their expertise to develop and optimise protocols to operate flexibly and therefore efficiently cope with demand whilst still maintaining the quality and yields of the proteins produced.
This increase in cell culture capacity in terms of amount of cell lines/strains as well as an increase in operational capacity during the past five years has resulted in a significant increase to the number of cell culture expression grows per year but there has also been an increase in the volume of these expression grows as well to keep pace with the ever growing demand for proteins (See Figures 1 & 2 ).
Figure 1. Cumulative grow numbers for all cell types (Insect, HEK, CHO, E. coli) from January 2021 up to the end of May 2025.
Figure 2. Cumulative cell culture volume for all cell types (Insect, HEK, CHO, E. coli) from January 2021 up to the end of May 2025.
During this period, we have also seen a dramatic increase in the different types of targets expressed as well, from just eighty-eight unique targets in 2021 to over one hundred and sixty in 2024 (See Figures 3 & 4) with a dramatic increase in the number of membrane proteins (transmembrane, membrane receptor, G protein coupled receptor). Currently, 2025 is no different either with our cell science team likely to exceed over 200 different targets expressed by the end of 2025 at our current rate of protein expression.
Figure 3. The number of unique protein targets expressed during 2021.
Figure 4. The number of unique protein targets expressed during 2024.
What this combined data shows us is that market demand for protein expression, like others since the COVID-19 pandemic, has increased year on year with a “peak” for us in 2023 where we saw record numbers both in the amount of protein expression grows, we were doing over the year but also in the increased volume of these expression grows also. In 2024 the CRO sector took a bit of a hit in terms of amount of money invested in the sector but all signs now in 2025 point to a rebound as we are currently experiencing an increased demand in our services once again.
Future Outlook
The cell culture market seems poised for continual growth, with increasing investments in research and development, technological advancements, and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases. As the market expands, it will play a pivotal role in advancing medical research, developing new therapies, and improving patient outcomes. In summary, the last five years have marked a period of significant growth, innovation, and investment in the cell culture market. With ongoing advancements and increasing applications, the future of cell culture technology looks promising and transformative. In the Protein Science & Structural Biology Department at Sygnature Discovery, we have kept pace with these ever-changing demands and are well positioned to support the production of proteins for drug discovery.
