Stratasys and CollPlant Biotechnologies announced a collaboration agreement to develop a solution for bio-fabricating human tissues and organs using Stratasys’ P3 technology-based bioprinter and CollPlant’s rh-Collagen-based bioinks. The first project aims to create an industrial-scale solution for CollPlant’s regenerative breast implants programme.
Stratasys is a pioneer in the field of polymer 3D printing solutions. CollPlant is a pioneering regenerative and aesthetics medicine company that is developing innovative technologies and products for tissue regeneration and organ manufacturing based on its plant-based collagen.
CollPlant’s Regenerative Breast Implants Program
The global breast implant market is currently estimated to be $2.6 billion, and breast reconstruction and augmentation procedures are the second most common plastic surgery procedures performed globally today. Today’s most common breast augmentation or reconstruction procedures are based on synthetic silicone breast implantations, which are an artificial substitute for natural regenerated tissue with complications.
Both companies have agreed to cross-promote each other’s bioprinting products under the terms of the agreement. Customers will be able to purchase Stratasys’ bioprinter alongside CollPlant’s bioinks, and CollPlant’s business partners and customers will be able to purchase Stratasys’ bioprinter.
“Through this partnership with CollPlant, we have an important opportunity to transform healthcare with bioprinting to improve the lives of patients undergoing breast augmentation or reconstruction procedures.”
Dr. Yoav Zeif, CEO, Stratasys
Dr. Yoav Zeif added, “This agreement is well-aligned with our strategy to deliver complete solutions for high-growth industry applications with our ecosystem of partners, and the production scale and precision 3D printing capabilities of Stratasys’ P3 Programmable Photopolymerization technology are a particularly strong fit for bioprinting applications. We believe that partnering with CollPlant will enable us to accelerate the industrialization of bioprinting for regenerative medicine, and we look forward to collaborating towards the successful commercialization of CollPlant’s novel regenerative breast implants and beyond.”
Yehiel Tal, CEO of CollPlant, commented, “Stratasys is leading in additive manufacturing and we are excited to collaborate with them on this transformative initiative. The P3 technology allows printing with high resolution and process control, and we believe that the combined, pioneering technologies of both companies will streamline the development and production process so that we have the most efficient means to produce our regenerative breast implants and other potential tissues and organs. We believe that our rhCollagen-based regenerative implant has the potential to overcome the challenges of existing breast procedures that use silicone implants or autologous fat tissue transfer.”
The new bioprinter, which is based on Stratasys’ precise P3™ 3D printing technology and CollPlant’s flagship bioinks, will enable the production of CollPlant’s cutting-edge breast implants, which are designed to regenerate an individual’s natural breast tissue without eliciting an immune response, providing a potentially revolutionary alternative for both aesthetic and reconstructive procedures.
CollPlant announced in January 2023 that it had completed a large-animal study for its 3D bioprinted regenerative breast implants. After three months, the preclinical study revealed progressive stages of tissue regeneration, as evidenced by the formation of maturing connective tissue and neovascular networks within the implants, with no adverse events reported. Based on these encouraging findings, CollPlant intends to conduct a large-animal follow-up study in the second half of 2023 using commercial-size implants to support subsequent human studies and future product commercialisation.
About CollPlant: CollPlant is a regenerative and aesthetic medicine company that specialises in 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs as well as medical aesthetics. CollPlant’s products are based on its proprietary plant-based genetic engineering technology, which produces recombinant human collagen. These products address indications for tissue repair, aesthetics, and organ fabrication, ushering in a new era in regenerative and aesthetic medicine.
