FB Essence: A Cost-Effective, Quality Alternative to FBS

We have been using FB Essence from VWR (VWR Life Science Seradigm FB Essence) since late 2016 and found it to be a very viable alternative to Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS). It is very cost effective and could be used to grow a variety of mammalian cancer cells, both suspension and adherent cell. We have used the FB essence for growing both adherent and suspension cells that are a little finicky also. They grow well and have provided us with reproducible results and the FBS essence does not affect or change the morphology of the cells. We have made comparisons between the FBS and the essence and found them to be very similar. FBS essence is 100% US origin and very cost effective. I would recommend scientists to try them. We have also mixed them with FBS from various companies and Seradigm and have used them too. We have found our cells going very well. We have observed them to as good as the ones growing in FBS. The Service from VWR and Seradigm is excellent both technical and customer. In a scenario where grant money is very slim, VWR and Seradigm have come out with a quality, cost-effective product for research.