The Core of Culture Media

At the core of culture media

At Thermo Fisher Scientific we serve public health, clinical laboratories, food companies, environmental screening and pharmaceutical companies with industry-leading culture media solutions. Our unique microbiology manufacturing heritage, encompassing trusted industry brands Oxoid™ and Remel™, brings 150 years of expertise in microbiology to our entire portfolio, whilst our rigorous quality standards have made us a preferred supplier and trusted source of culture mediums to laboratories all around the world.

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The story so far: A legacy of microbiology leadership

1924

Oxoid™ is born out of LabLemco™, when OXO Ltd formed a Medical Division to sell products to doctors under the trade name OXOID (OXO Industrial Division).

1950s

The Oxoid™ name becomes synonymous with dehydrated culture media. At the time the company were based in the Oxo cube factory in Southwark, London.

1974

Basingstoke site established in 1974 as a purpose-built manufacturing facility, Oxoid relocates from London.

2004

Oxoid™ acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific (then Thermo Electron) alongside Kansas- based Remel™.

2020

50,000 sq.ft Microbiology Logistics Facility opened in Q1 at the Basingstoke site.

2023

New state-of-the-art peptone manufacturing facility opens with scope to increase manufacturing capacity by 40%.

The future of peptone manufacturing

Welcome to the future of peptone manufacturing: a $50M state-of-the-art facility for today and tomorrow

Since 1924, we have been manufacturing quality peptones, both as a standalone and as raw materials, for use within our dehydrated and prepared culture media products at our Basingstoke site in the UK. Recent investment in our facilities enables us to continue producing culture media with industry-leading quality, consistency and control.

Today, our Basingstoke site is a global manufacturing hub for microbiology. From 25 base Peptone formulations, the facility supplies quality culture media products that span clinical diagnostics, food safety and authenticity, and pharmaceutical manufacturing, both within Thermo Fisher Scientific and to a global network of customers.

The launch of the new start-of-the-art manufacturing facility demonstrates a continual commitment to serving microbiology both today and tomorrow.

With complete vertical integration from raw-material to end-product and a significantly increased production capacity, the investment further strengthens Thermo Fisher Scientific’s position as a leader in the life sciences sector and enables us to meet the ever-increasing demand for our high-quality microbiology products. Watch the video:

Industry leading factory for culture media products

A GMP compliant facility producing top quality materials.

Highly automated process control

Traceability and more consistent manufacturing as standard.

Increased capacity and capability

Increased production and larger batch size capabilities both now and in the future.

Underpinning quality as the foundation

The peptones manufactured here are integrated into Thermo Scientific Dehydrated Culture Media (DCM) and Pre-prepared Media (PPM).

Latest news

The updated plant was officially opened on November 14th 2023 during a ribbon-cutting event, led by Colin Drummond, Senior Director Operations and Basingstoke Site leader; Andy Stickland, Vice President Operations; Claire Wallace, President RSD Division; and Gianluca Pettiti, Executive Vice President.

With attendance from press, government and employees, the opening ceremony marked the beginning of the latest chapter in our extensive history of culture media and peptone production.