High Res 3D Bioprinting Startup Looks for Investors

Poietis has launched a crowdfunding campaign on the WiSEED platform. The company plans to provide on-demand fabrication of human-tissues. 3D bioprints will have applications in research as predictive models for pharma and cosmetics industries. Other uses are personalized therapies (companion diagnostic and patient stratification) and regenerative medicine (clinical custom tissue grafts).

3D bioprinting constructs biological entities by dispensing cells onto a biocompatible scaffold, layer-by-layer, to eventually generate a tissue-like 3D structure. To a certain degree, current bioprinting technologies affect cell stability and viability after the manufacturing process. But Poietis is improving the state-of-the-art with laser-assisted bioprinting. The innovative technique uses a laser that is reflected by a mirror and passes through a lens and a surface containing the bioink. The laser causes the cells to drop onto a culture plate, each drop containing one cell. The new technique allows a higher resolution (cell by cell printing), micrometric precision and a 100% viability of printed cells. This technical advantages, according to WiSEED, keep Poietis ahead of competitors like Organovo and Cyfuse Biomedical.

The fundraiser threshold is €600,000. WiSEED is a platform where money is exchanged for equity instead of rewards. Poietis is currently developing its first tissues and plans to have developed a 3rd generation bioprinter by 2017.