CollPlant Teams Up for 3D Printed Soft Tissue

CollPlant and United Therapeutics Corporation recently announced that they have partnered together under a license, development and commercialization agreement to provide 3D bioprinted soft tissue transplants for patients in need.

The agreement combines CollPlant’s proprietary recombinant human collagen (rhCollagen) and BioInk technology with the regenerative medicine and soft tissue manufacturing capabilities of United Therapeutics.

Under the terms of the agreement, CollPlant, headquartered in Ness Ziona, Israel, granted Silver Springs, Maryland-based United Therapeutics, through its organ manufacturing and transplantation-focused subsidiary Lung Biotechnology PBC, an exclusive license to its technology for the production and use of rhCollagen-based BioInk for 3D bioprinted transplants.

Yehiel Tal, chief executive officer of CollPlant told OTW, “Currently there is a big gap between the number of transplants and the market need. Using donor tissue is a low yield process, that creates the need for a reliable source in transplants that will not be rejected by the recipient and not elicit an immune response. The tissue manufacturing technology that is being developed by United Therapeutics is intended to address this need.”

CollPlant will manufacture and supply the BioInk and provide technical support to United Therapeutics as it establishes a U.S. facility for the manufacture of CollPlant’s rhCollagen and BioInk.

Tal explained, “CollPlant has developed a unique technology to mass produce human collagen in its genetically engineered tobacco plants. Producing collagen in tobacco plants is an efficient process that can satisfy the market demand for collagen with relatively small growing area. From the collagen that we produce in tobacco plants we make BioInk formulations for the 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs.”

He added, “Our collagen-based BioInks are differentiated from other BioInks that are based on tissue-extracted collagens. CollPlant’s plant-derive collagen doesn’t elicit immune response and has distinguished biological and physical properties. The printability (e.g. rheological properties) of CollPlant’s BioInks is better, and the biological performance with all kinds of cells (e.g. primary human cells, stem cells) is superior. This differentiation makes CollPlant’s BioInks the ideal candidates for organs and tissues manufacturing.”

While the initial focus of the agreement between CollPlant and United Therapeutics will be on lung manufacturing, it allows for the addition of three other organs at the sole discretion of United Therapeutics.

Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of United Therapeutics, said, “We are excited to work with CollPlant’s extraordinary Israeli technology to transform the tobacco plant that is so associated with lung disease into a collagen-expressing plant that will be essential to the production of an unlimited number of transplantable lungs.”

CollPlant is a regenerative medicine company focused on 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs, and on developing and commercializing tissue repair products for orthobiologics, and advanced wound care markets.

United Therapeutics Corporation, through their subsidiary, Lung Biotechnology PBC, is focused on addressed the acute national shortage of transplantable lungs and other organs with a variety of technologies that either delay the need for such organs or expand the supply.