Seaweed shortage prompts Thermo to suspend sale of two lab agars

By Gareth Macdonald

- Last updated on GMT

Seaweed shortage hits laboratory agar supplies
Seaweed shortage hits laboratory agar supplies
Thermofisher Scientific has stopped selling two agars used in pharmaceutical industry control labs, citing a worldwide shortage of the seaweed used to make them.

The US life science supplier announced the suspension on October 30, explaining it had stopped selling bacteriological agar LP0011 (agar no 1) and technical agar LP0013 (agar no. 3) until 2016.

Thermo said the suspension was “in order to maintain supply of manufactured DCMs ([dehydrated culture media] to our customers​.”

In the letter – which some recipients​ subsequently published on twitter – Thermo said the problem is a shortage of the raw material - red seaweed - used to make the agar.

It said: “The yields of agar from last year’s harvest have been particularly low due to the variable quality of the seaweed​” adding that “Seaweed quotas have also been lowered to ensure long term sustainability point of view and this too has affected the availability of raw material.”

Thermofisher letter to agar users
Thermofisher letter to agar users

In response, Thermo said it has expanded its supplier base and begun “assessing many of our dehydrated culture media products for alternative agar formulations to ensure there is flexibility when we encounter supply problems​.”

Seaweed supplies

The suspended agars are composed of polysaccharides extracted from agarophyte seaweeds – which include Gelidium, Gracilaria, Pterocladia, Acanthopeltis ​and Ahnfeltia​species.

An expert told us the products are used in a range of applications in a variety of industries – including pharmaceutical manufacturing – explaining that “they are base agars to which other nutrients are added​.”

He suggested that because LP0011 and LP0013 are high quality agars producing them from lower quality raw materials is likely to have increased refining costs.

Thermofisher told us in an emailed statment that: "We are currently prioritizing limited inventories of agars LP11 and LP13, due to evolving market conditions and are confident that we can address this temporary supply issue.

"These efforts are necessary to ensure production of our own products while we seek alternatives and identify other global sources of seaweed​."

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