CELLnTEC joins EU consortium to develop bioprinted liver constructs

Liver disease is a major global health challenge, responsible for approximately 2 million deaths annually. NEOLIVER's innovative approach aims to alleviate the burden of liver disease by providing a scalable and personalized solution which could in the future be utilized for liver transplantation. The consortium combines two bioprinting approaches to create dense, functional, and vascularized liver constructs using patient-derived organoids and supporting cells.

NEOLIVER will tackle key technological challenges and barriers in whole organ engineering by merging two bioprinting technologies and exploring five innovation routes:

1. Cell Sources: NEOLIVER expands and standardizes the production of organoids and supporting cells from multiple donors.
2. Bioprinting Tools: NEOLIVER utilizes LIFT technology for precise and high-speed bioprinting of liver constructs.
3. Vascularization: The consortium integrates bioprinted vessels and native donor vessels to create fully vascularized liver constructs.
4. Automated Manufacturing: NEOLIVER implements a GMP-conform automated manufacturing capability for large-scale production.
5. Clinical Validation: Functionality of bioprinted liver constructs will be validated preclinically and plan for first-in-human trials will be prepared.

NEOLIVER is built upon excellent results of the ORANTRANS EU-funded project, which developed the key technologies and concepts, and which successfully transplanted small liver constructs into mice. NEOLIVER pushes the boundaries of tissue engineering further by automating the bioprinting process and producing a larger functional tissue.

According to Professor Spee: “The combined NEOLIVER consortium expertise will enable us to develop and deploy a larger tissue to demonstrate its potential for future clinical use in addressing the donor organs shortage in the future. If successful, the NEOLIVER approach will be scalable to other organ systems, leveraging organoid technology—a cornerstone of regenerative medicine”.

Dr. Stefan Bärtschi, Head of R&D, CELLnTEC said: “CELLnTEC is pleased to support NEOLIVER in the development of large, functional organ constructs, with the vision of fundamentally improving the lives of affected patients in the future. As a pioneering developer of fully defined, animal and human component-free precision media for stem cell research and regenerative medicine, we look forward to sharing CELLnTEC’s expertise with our NEOLIVER colleagues and accelerating clinical application.”