United Therapeutics signs 3D bioprinting technology deal

Maryland-based United Therapeutics has inked a licence, development and commercialisation agreement with CollPlant, an Israeli biotech company, for 3D bioprinted lung transplants.

Announced yesterday, October 22, the deal will combine CollPlant’s recombinant human collagen (rhCollagen) and biological ink (BioInk) technology with United’s regenerative medicine and organ manufacturing capabilities.

United will pay CollPlant $5 million upfront and make milestone payments of up to $15 million for an exclusive licence to CollPlant’s technology for the production and use of BioInk for 3D bioprinted lung transplants.

CollPlant will make and supply BioInk “for a few years” to meet demand, while also providing support to United while it establishes a US facility for the manufacture of rhCollagen and BioInk.

With an initial focus on lung manufacturing, the agreement also gives United the option to expand the field of licence to add up to three other organs.

Yehiel Tal, CEO of CollPlant, said: “We strongly believe that our proprietary and proven rhCollagen is the finest building block for regenerative medicine scaffolds available today, and will play a critical role in the organ manufacturing process.”

Martine Rothblatt, chairman and CEO of United, added: “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’s rhCollagen is produced by tobacco plants that have been genetically engineered with five human genes that are essential for the production of collagen.

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