Automation of 3D cell model assembly by additive printing

Cell-based analysis is a key technology in preclinical development of new drugs and healthcare products. By use of ethically-sourced human cells it is an attractive alternative to, and replacement for, animal testing. There is incentive to make cell-based analysis models as tissue-like as possible, making them 3-dimensional instead of conventional 2D cell cultures. This should confer analysis based on these models with high predictive value, but this increases the technical difficulty, and the time and resource needed to assemble the models. The project will test the feasibility of manufacturing cell-based analysis models by additive printing of both the cells and their supporting biological scaffolds into the multiwell culture dishes typically used in preclinical screening of candidate drugs. A successful demonstration of additive printing in this context will create opportunity to build new cost-effective, automatable manufacturing processes for cell-based systems. This innovation will have significant commercial value in a market sector worth >$2Bn world-wide; it will also increase end-user screening efficiency and, in so doing, reduce new drug development costs and shorten development time.