3Rs Webinar: Animal-Free Cell Culture - Replacing Fetal Bovine Serum

3Rs Training Webinar – Animal-Free Cell Culture: Replacing Fetal Bovine Serum for Humane and Robust ScienceTuesday, November 4, 2025 | 1 PM ET / 7 PM CET | Via Zoom

As part of the 3Rs Training Webinar series led by Dr. Kathrin Herrmann (Director of the Education Program, CAAT), this session will spotlight the transition away from fetal bovine serum (FBS) in cell culture. Dr. Herrmann will be joined by Tilo Weber, Scientific Officer at the Animal Welfare Academy of the Deutscher Tierschutzbund, who will share new insights into animal-free alternatives and their role in advancing reproducible and ethical research.

For decades, cell culture has been central to biomedical and biotechnological progress, yet most cell lines continue to rely on FBS—an animal-derived supplement with serious ethical, safety, and reproducibility concerns. Harvested from bovine fetuses as a byproduct of slaughter, FBS raises both animal welfare and scientific validity issues. At the same time, the global scientific community is increasingly recognizing the need for well-defined, sustainable, and xeno-free alternatives.

In this webinar, Weber will highlight the application of animal-free media across multiple domains, including:

• Stem cell research
• Complex in vitro models
• Cultivated meat production
• Biotechnological production
• Toxicological testing
• Cryopreservation

Furthermore, Weber will introduce the Oredsson Universal Replacement Medium (OUR Medium), a fully defined, xeno-free substitute for FBS developed in collaboration with Lund University, Sweden.

This timely presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of the scientific, ethical, and regulatory case for FBS replacement and explore how defined animal-free media can strengthen the reproducibility, safety, and global acceptance of cell-based systems.

Topics we’ll explore include:

• The case against FBS: Why its continued use poses ethical, safety, and scientific challenges.
• Animal-free innovation: How defined, xeno-free media improve reproducibility and reliability in research.
• Applications in practice: Case studies in stem cell science, toxicology, biotechnology, and cultivated meat.
• Barriers to transition: Technical, educational, and regulatory hurdles slowing adoption.
• A roadmap forward: What is needed to scale up animal-free media globally and accelerate the shift to humane cell culture.

Join us to learn how moving beyond FBS can transform cell culture into a fully animal-free, scientifically robust practice that benefits research, industry, and society.

About the Speaker

Tilo Weber studied Biology at the University of Würzburg and has been working since 2016 as a Scientific Officer at the Animal Welfare Academy of the Deutscher Tierschutzbund. His research focuses on animal-free cell culture and the global replacement of FBS. He has co-authored multiple scientific papers on FBS alternatives and, since 2023, has collaborated with Lund University to disseminate information on the Oredsson Universal Replacement Medium. He has presented this work at several international conferences, including the 2025 World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Testing in Rio de Janeiro. In August 2025, he co-authored a best practice review on FBS replacement with 12 international researchers.

Image © Deutscher Tierschutzbund e.V. | Jannika Verbücheln