German food-tech startup MyriaMeat has successfully established a pluripotent stem cell line from roe deer, expanding its cultivated meat product portfolio.
Munich-based MyriaMeat has laid the groundwork for developing a cultivated venison fillet from roe deer cells.
The startup has established an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line that produces roe deer muscle cells using its patented differentiation protocol.
The milestone extends its cultivated meat focus beyond pork, and “lays the foundation for the roe deer fillet of the future”, the company noted in a LinkedIn post. “Roe deer meat from cell culture is no longer just a vision – it is our next goal,” said MyriaMeat CEO Florian Hüttner.
Why MyriaMeat uses pluripotent stem cells
Founded in 2022 as a spin-off from the University of Göttingen, MyriaMeat is built on 25 years of research and its founders’ patented medical technology.
To make cultivated meat, it leverages iPSCs, which – unlike immortalised cell lines that need to be altered to multiply indefinitely – have the natural ability to continue multiplying, and do so rapidly. These allow it to grow functional muscle structures and whole cuts of meat.
Typically, cultivated meat cells are grown on scaffolds to produce structured cuts of meat, since scaffolds enable the attachment, differentiation and maturation of cells in a specific manner. But scaffolds are expensive.
iPSCs, though, possess self-assembling properties that can be utilised by organoids to reproduce features of in-vitro tissue organisation and mimic the characteristics of a variety of tissues.
MyriaMeat’s tech enables it to obtain stable stem cell cultures from a single, harmless biopsy, and the firm believes only iPSC-derived pure muscles can recreate animal muscles as closely as possible.
One of the key advantages of focusing on roe deer cells is its status as a premium, highly prized cut of venison. By targeting higher-end meats, cultivated meat companies can achieve cost parity more quickly, potentially opening up the market to a larger set of consumers.
MyriaMeat advances cultivated meat tech with government support
MyriaMeat is one of the better-funded startups in Europe’s cultivated meat sector, having raised €43M in a 2023 financing round. It has been working on pork and Wagyu beef as well.
“This milestone shows that our platform technology can be transferred to additional animal species,” Hüttner said of the roe deer muscle cell development.
Its pork platform is the most advanced. In 2024, it unveiled a scaffold-free pork fillet made entirely from pig cells, without any plant-based additives or genetic modifications. And last year, it announced that its pig muscle cells can exhibit natural, untriggered contraction, mirroring the functionality of animal muscle.
MyriaMeat has also been working with German meat manufacturer Kupfer to develop a blended sausage combining conventional pork with 20% cultivated pork. The project has been funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the state of Lower Saxony.
Polling shows that 47% of Germans are willing to try cultivated meat, and two-thirds believe it should be produced locally to benefit the economy if it were to come to market. In fact, 47% think the government should advance the sector’s development and support farmers to capitalise on the opportunities presented by alternative proteins.
For its part, the German government committed €38M in its 2024 federal budget to promote alternative proteins, including the manufacturing and processing of cultivated meat. And this month, it released a biotechnology roadmap as part of its High-Tech Agenda, which earmarks the creation of a national innovation hub for cultivated meat and precision-fermented foods by 2027.
