“Bovine Pituitary Extract is a superior supplement for epithelial cells.”1
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At Cell Applications, our Bovine Pituitary Extract and Bovine Brain Extract continue a decades-long legacy of pioneering work by Susan Hammond at the Dr. Richard Ham Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology (MCDB) lab at the University of Colorado.
In 1984, Ms. Hammond established that Bovine Pituitary Extract or BPE supports epithelial cell growth while limiting fibroblast proliferation, enabling serum-reduced and in some systems, serum-free culture conditions.
This breakthrough enabled the long-term expansion and banking of human epithelial cells, making reproducible primary cell research practical and scalable.
Related work led to the development of Bovine Brain Extract (BBE), which supports endothelial and neuronal cell cultures.
In 1988, Ms. Hammond founded Hammond Cell Tech to standardize extraction methods for the global scientific community.
She optimized a non-lyophilized manufacturing process designed to preserve bioactivity and potency compared to generic, freeze-dried alternatives.
After 30 years, Ms. Hammond transferred these proprietary protocols exclusively to Cell Applications.
Today, Cell Applications remains the exclusive provider of Hammond method BPE and BBE, continuing the legacy of consistent performance and established cell culture standards.
Cell Applications quality controls BPE using human keratinocyte assays, and BPE is a core component across Cell Applications’ epithelial growth media, supporting airway, ocular, mammary, placental, renal, and urogenital cells, as well as melanocytes.
Visit our Bovine Pituitary Extract and Bovine Brain Extract pages to shop and learn more!
1Hammond SL, Ham RG, Stampfer MR. Serum-free growth of human mammary epithelial cells: rapid clonal growth in defined medium and extended serial passage with pituitary extract. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Sep;81(17):5435-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.17.5435. PMID: 6591199; PMCID: PMC391719.
For more on Dr. Ham and MCDB Lab at the University of Colorado, including commentary from Susan Hammond, please see:
McKeehan, W. L. (2012). A tribute to Richard G. Ham (1932–2011). In The Society for In Vitro Biology, In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology – Animal [Journal-article]. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-012-9509-9
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