HELSINKI (News release) -- UPM Biomedicals is excited to announce its collaboration with bioconvergence company CELLINK. The partnership brings together UPM's expertise for producing non-animal derived, nanocellulose biomaterials with CELLINK's years of experience in method development for 3D bioprinting, offering new groundbreaking solutions to this growing life sciences market.
Advances in 3D printing in the past decade have been outstanding, and the technology is becoming more widely used for various cutting-edge applications. 3D bioprinting is already important in areas such as cancer research, where tumour models can be printed to test their response to different treatments. More recently scientists have been exploring the use of this technology in a clinical setting, with the possibility of printing tissues or organs that can then be transplanted into patients. Using non-animal derived raw materials, such as UPM's nanofibrillar cellulose, for bio-ink formulations makes transplants into humans much more effective, reducing the possibility of an immune response or rejection.
The collaboration of two strong partners, CELLINK and UPM, builds confidence in making these treatments into an industrial and clinical standard, applied in a wider setting instead of remaining only within few hospitals.
"Our material is made from just nanocellulose and water, with no animal-derived components and no contaminants. We were the first ones to produce it in accordance with the standard ISO 13485 quality management of medical devices, which is a critical first step for future clinical applications. Together with our high-quality materials and CELLINK's 3D printing capabilities, we will produce the future of regenerative medicine one drop at a time", says Johana Kuncova-Kallio, Director of UPM Biomedicals.
"We were the first company to bring cellulose bio-ink to the market and partnering with UPM has opened up a world of possibilities. Companies need to work together to make an impact, and this collaboration is doing exactly that. We definitely see these technologies being used for tissue repair or replacement in the future, and that's very exciting", adds Erik Gatenholm, CEO of CELLINK.
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