HELSINKI (News release) -- UPM Biomedicals, the forerunner in producing high quality nanofibrillar cellulose for life science and clinical applications, has signed an extensive distribution agreement for GrowInk™ bioinks with Brinter Inc, a Finnish-US medtech/biotech company focusing on the development of cartilage implants using their patented 3D bioprinting technology.

The agreement grants Brinter Inc the distribution rights of GrowInk bioinks in United States, Canada, Mexico, Finland, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.

Dr. Johana Kuncova-Kallio, Director, UPM Biomedicals: "We are happy to enter into distribution agreement with Brinter, a Finnish-US company with global outreach. With Brinter, we are looking forward to entering even more company laboratories and hospitals with our GrowInk™ bioinks. Let's wave the "made in Finland used around the globe" flag together!"

Dr. Eva Mueller, Head of Products, Brinter Inc: "This collaboration marks a significant milestone in advancing the field of 3D bioprinting and regenerative medicine together. We are excited about the impact this partnership will have on driving innovation in the life science and clinical sectors."

UPM Biomedicals' GrowInks are animal free, biocompatible, and ready-to-use hydrogels that can be mixed directly with cells for bioprinting applications. The two main components in GrowInks are nanofibrillar cellulose and water, providing a fully defined matrix for living cells to grow in. The bioinks can be customised by the addition of molecules, such as growth factors or adhesion proteins, or other biomaterials to customise the cell culture matrix for the specific needs of different cell types.

Ready-to-use and customisable GrowInks mimic the in vivo environment supporting cell growth and differentiation. Over 150 different cell types have been cultured in nanofibrillar cellulose. They can easily be diluted to provide a wide range of stiffnesses that can be matched to the requirements of cells. GrowInks are room temperature stable, and they can be used with or without a crosslinking agent depending on the application. GrowInks enable cell printing layer-by-layer with high-precision cell positioning.

GrowInk is available in three different versions:

• GrowInk-N - natural opaque bioink made of pure nanofibrillar cellulose.
• GrowInk-T - transparent, anionic nanofibrillar cellulose bioink for advanced imaging applications. GrowInk -T can be optionally cross-linked with Calcium chloride (CaCl₂) to harden the printed structures.
• GrowInk-ALG - nanofibrillar cellulose based bioink with alginate that can be cross-linked.

Advances in 3D bioprinting have been outstanding in the past decade. The technology is becoming widely used for various applications, and 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, the use of this technology has been explored in a clinical setting, with the possibility of printing tissues or organs that can then be transplanted into patients. Use of animal-free raw materials for bioink formulations make transplants into humans much more effective and reduces the possibility of an immune response or rejection by humans.

UPM Biomedicals is the forerunner in producing high quality (ISO13485) nanofibrillar cellulose for life science and medical applications. Our nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) can be used in numerous forms and acts as an underlying building block for bridging the worlds of biomaterials, biomanufacturing and medicine. UPM Biomedicals collaborates with universities, research centres and industrial partners on future innovations and products in the field of high throughput drug screening, personalized medicine, advanced cell therapies, 3D bioprinting, tissue engineering and advanced wound care.

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