Leading 3D printer OEM 3D Systems has announced a partnership with Antleron, a Belgium-based biotechnology company, to develop regenerative products for personalized patient care.
“The vision of Antleron is to sustainably bring living therapies into the clinic,” said Jan Schrooten, CEO of Antleron. “3D printing is key to this endeavor, and we are eager to collaborate with 3D Systems and its experts.
“I look forward to the pioneering solutions we’ll be able to achieve to elevate the efficacy of bioprinting and extend its biomedical application reach.”
Living therapy factories
Founded in 2014, Antleron has developed software which pioneers workflows enabling personalized medicine. One of its solutions, ‘living therapy factory’ merges cells, biomaterials, biologics, bioreactors, and 3D Systems printers to accelerate the engineering of living therapies. This operates using systematic quality-by-design (QbD) an approach to developing pharmaceuticals and AI.
Through the new partnership, 3D Systems and Antleron will address solutions for medical device and advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) applications. In particular, the advancement of growing cells and tissues will be a focus to enable the transition from a static 2D to a bioreactor-based 3D cell culture. This will lead to new ways to methods of producing medical implants, vaccines, cell therapies, and living tissues.
Technologies such as ProJet MJP 2500 and Figure 4 3D printers as well as VisiJet materials from 3D Systems will be utilized to establish a flexible, scalable digital factory approach in building new 3D bioprinting platforms. The modular closed parametric systems includes digital monitoring and quality control for risk mitigation.
3D Systems and healthcare
3D Systems has made several other moves into the healthcare sector. Most recently, the company attained 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its VSP Orthopaedics platform. The company also has an existing 3D bioprinting agreement with United Therapeutics Corporation in which the two partners are working to develop regenerative treatments for the lungs.
Upon the company’s latest partnership, Chuck Hull, co-founder and CTO, 3D Systems, added, “3D Systems is excited about working with Antleron as they explore bioprinting, and especially their capacity to develop end-to-end solutions utilizing the 3D Systems’ state of the art printing platforms and materials.”
“As we look to the future, bioprinting and regenerative medicine are large opportunities for 3D printing, and we look forward to expanding the role 3D Systems will play in these exciting fields.”
Developments on this agreement will be exhibited at Formnext 2019 from November 19-22, at 3D Systems’ booth D03, Hall 12.1.
For the latest additive manufacturing news, subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Looking for a career in additive manufacturing? Visit 3D Printing Jobs for a selection of roles in the industry.
Featured image shows a 3D Systems SLA skull & reconstructed jaw. Photo via: 3D Systems Healthcare
