ProgenMix™ Media Formulation A Pancreatic Cell Culture Protocol for Stem Cell Researchers
ProgenMix™ is a chemically defined cell culture media formulation developed by Regenerative Medical Solutions (RMS) for researchers who want to generate their own pancreatic progenitor cells from pluripotent stem cells. Designed as a complete cell culture protocol and iPSC protocol for pancreatic differentiation, ProgenMix™ enables stem cell researchers and regenerative medicine labs to produce high-purity PDX1+ pancreatic progenitor cells and endocrine cell types efficiently, reproducibly, and at scale.
What Is ProgenMix™?
ProgenMix™ is an iPSC protocol and differentiation media formulation in one. Whereas our ILC Cell Kit supplies researchers with ready-to-use cryopreserved islet-like cells, ProgenMix™ is designed for labs that want to run the differentiation process themselves, using their own human iPSC or embryonic stem cell lines.
The formulation is chemically defined, meaning its composition is precisely known and controlled. This eliminates the variability commonly associated with undefined or serum-containing media and standard cell culture supplements, delivering consistent, lot-to-lot reproducibility that researchers can rely on across experiments.
Key Features of Our iPSC Cell Culture Protocol
The details below will help you determine if our ProgenMix™ media formulation is right for your application.
Robust PDX1+ Progenitor Cell Generation
ProgenMix™ is optimized for high-efficiency generation of PDX1+ pancreatic progenitor cells, the key precursor cell type in the differentiation pathway toward insulin-producing beta cells. Using a four-stage culture protocol, researchers can isolate PDX1+ cells to greater than 95% purity from undifferentiated stem cells. These cells also express additional important pancreatic progenitor markers, including SOX9 and NKX6.1.
Compatible With Multiple Stem Cell Lines
ProgenMix™ works with multiple human iPSC and embryonic stem cell lines, and differentiation performance is not cell line dependent. As an iPSC protocol, it is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing lab workflows. Unlike many stem cell media formulations that require optimization for each new line, ProgenMix™ delivers consistent results across lines, making it a versatile addition to any stem cell research workflow.
Chemically Defined for Maximum Reproducibility
Because ProgenMix™ is chemically defined, researchers benefit from reduced variability between experiments and between lots. As a chemically defined cell culture protocol, it is a critical advantage in iPSC differentiation workflows, where inconsistency in media composition can significantly affect cell output and data quality, whether for publishing results, advancing drug discovery programs, or building a body of pre-clinical data. ProgenMix™ is a cell culture media formulation engineered for precision, giving researchers confidence that results are driven by biology, not batch variation.
Improved Differentiation Efficiency
ProgenMix™ outperforms multiple published differentiation protocols in head-to-head comparisons. In studies comparing PDX1+ cell output across a range of published methods, the RMS protocol consistently yielded a higher purity of pancreatic progenitor cells. In a direct comparison with the D’Amour et al. protocol (Nature Biotechnology, 2006), a widely referenced benchmark in the field, cells differentiated using ProgenMix™ showed significantly greater expression of both PDX1 and insulin genes, indicating superior differentiation toward insulin-producing cells.
ProgenMix™ Cell Culture Media Applications
ProgenMix™ is designed for stem cell researchers and regenerative medicine labs looking for a reliable pancreatic differentiation protocol for the following applications:
- Pancreatic differentiation research: Generating and studying PDX1+ progenitor cells and downstream endocrine cell types.
- Beta cell differentiation: Investigating the pathway from pancreatic progenitor cells to mature, insulin-producing beta cells.
- Drug discovery and screening: Producing pancreatic progenitor cells as a model system for testing candidate compounds for toxicity or efficacy.
- Diabetes research: Developing in vitro cellular models relevant to type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
- iPSC workflow optimization: Improving the efficiency and reproducibility of existing pancreatic differentiation protocols.
ProgenMix™ vs. the ILC Cell Kit
RMS offers two complementary products for researchers working in pancreatic cell biology. The right choice depends on your lab’s workflow and research needs:
ProgenMix™ Media Formulation
For labs that want to run the differentiation process themselves. ProgenMix™ is a cell culture protocol and media formulation that provides everything needed to generate PDX1+ pancreatic progenitor cells and endocrine cell types from your own iPSC or ESC lines. Ideal for researchers with differentiation expertise who need a high-performing, reproducible media formulation for drug toxicity testing.
ILC Cell Kit
For researchers who need ready-to-use pancreatic cells without running differentiation in-house. The ILC Cell Kit contains cryopreserved, single-cell islet-like clusters (ILCs) derived from human iPSCs that closely resemble human cadaveric islets morphologically and functionally, with demonstrated insulin production. Ideal for drug screening, toxicity testing, and in vitro diabetes research applications.
Both products are built on the same proprietary iPSC differentiation technology developed at RMS and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Backed by 25+ Years of Stem Cell Research
ProgenMix™ is the product of more than two decades of pancreatic stem cell research led by Dr. Jon S. Odorico, Scientific Founder of RMS and Professor of Transplant Surgery at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dr. Odorico has collaborated with Dr. James Thomson, a pioneer in iPSC research, and holds multiple issued patents covering methods for differentiating pluripotent stem cells into cells of the pancreatic lineage.
The RMS iPSC protocol underlying ProgenMix™ is protected by a suite of patents and represents some of the most advanced iPSC-to-pancreatic-cell technology available. The ProgenMix™ cell culture media formulation is the same foundational science driving RMS’s therapeutic program, a prospective functional cure for diabetes currently in pre-clinical development.
Inquire About ProgenMix™
To learn more about ProgenMix™, request product details, or discuss how it fits your research workflow, get in touch with the RMS team.
Interested in our broader work? Learn more about our stem cell therapy for diabetes.