Ajinomoto, founded in 1909 after chemist Kikunae Ikeda isolated glutamate from kelp broth and commercialized it as MSG, has evolved from seasoning to cell culture media over more than a century
Now, its Korean subsidiary Ajinomoto CELLiST Korea, which focuses on cell culture media development and manufacturing, announced the launch of CELLiSTTM AAV Production Supplement 1, a new medium supplement designed to improve viral vector productivity in gene therapy manufacturing.
The supplement was developed through a collaboration between Ajinomoto Co., Inc. of Tokyo and its U.S.-based consolidated subsidiary Forge Biologics, a contract development and manufacturing organization specializing in adeno-associated virus production. Demonstration studies showed that CELLiSTTM AAV Production Supplement 1 increased viral vector productivity by approximately 1.3 to 2 times compared with conventional culture methods. Results from the joint research were presented at the Japan Society of Gene and Cell Therapy meeting in July 2025.
Improving viral vector productivity remains one of the major challenges facing the gene therapy sector, particularly as developers seek to reduce manufacturing costs while scaling production. The global gene therapy market is projected to grow from about USD 7 billion in 2022 to USD 46 billion by 2030, increasing demand for more efficient production technologies for both common and rare disease therapies.
Ajinomoto CELLiST Korea has spent more than 30 years developing cell culture media for biopharmaceutical manufacturing, with a portfolio of CELLiSTTM products optimized for CHO and HEK293 cell lines. By combining the Ajinomoto Group’s formulation optimization technologies with Forge Biologics’ experience in large-scale AAV manufacturing, the companies aimed to address key production bottlenecks in gene therapy manufacturing. Ajinomoto CELLiST Korea plans to support customers primarily in Asia that are seeking to improve viral vector production efficiency.
“We are pleased to introduce CELLiSTTM AAV Production Supplement 1 to our customers,” said Sugiyama, president of Ajinomoto CELLiST Korea. “By building on the Ajinomoto Group’s research capabilities, we aim to help gene therapy developers improve productivity, scalability, and manufacturing consistency.”
Ajinomoto CELLiST Korea continues to expand its AminoScience-based solutions for biopharmaceutical manufacturing, supporting applications ranging from monoclonal antibodies to next-generation cell and gene therapies.
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Tagged With: AAV, Adeno-associated virus, Ajinomoto, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, cell and gene therapy, cell culture media, Forge Biologics, gene therapy, gene therapy manufacturing, viral vectors
