3D Systems acquires bioprinting firm as part of medical drive

3D Systems has announced targeted investments to address rapidly expanding application opportunities for additive manufacturing (AM) in medical and high-reliability industrial applications.

In January of this year, following three years of  development efforts, 3D Systems announced a breakthrough in its regenerative medicine programme, targeted towards the printing of solid human organs (e.g., lungs) through a partnership with United Therapeutics. Referencing this progress, the company also announced plans to expand its regenerative medicine efforts to capitalise on this breakthrough technology, applying it in parallel to nearer-term, non-organ human applications. 

With the company’s progress toward in vivo regenerative medicine applications, there exists a further opportunity to extend this technology to meet the growing near-term demand for advanced bioprinting solutions in medical and pharmaceutical research & development laboratories. 

These labs increasingly use 3D bioprinting to create three-dimensional cellular structures that imitate natural tissues, bones, and blood vessels in the body, facilitating the in vitro study of regenerative medicine and the development of new drug therapies. To accelerate this laboratory focus, the company has announced the acquisition of Allevi, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based developer of bioprinting solutions, comprising 3D bioprinters, biomaterials (also known as bioinks), and specialised laboratory software. 

Founded in 2014, Allevi has established a technology base, brand, and distribution network for this market, with a presence in over 380 medical and pharmaceutical laboratories in more than 40 countries. 

This acquisition aims to position 3D Systems to effectively address a broad spectrum of applications in the rapidly evolving field of regenerative medicine which is projected to grow by more than 15% per year by multiple research houses, including Medgadget, Research and Markets, and Allied Market Research, and could surpass $18 billion by 2025. Through the addition of Allevi’s technologies and expertise, 3D Systems plans to develop laboratory and human applications in the near-term and medium term and enable the development of human organs in the long term. 

Industrialisation of additive manufacturing has been enabled by the maturing of metal and polymer printing technologies, and the rapid expansion of printable materials that are well suited for use in industrial equipment and high-reliability systems, as well as the human body. Moving forward, a pacing item for AM growth is software that can support widespread industrial adoption by those that are generalists in manufacturing. For these individuals, software that is easy to use and can rapidly optimise the printing process for new component designs is central to increasing productivity and improving the as-printed product yield and performance. 

As a pioneer in the industry and a leader in the industrialization of additive manufacturing, 3D Systems introduced 3DXpert in 2016. This market-leading software package addresses each step of the AM workflow from part design to post-process finishing. In subsequent releases, 3DXpert has refined each step of the process to both optimise workflows and encompass more sophisticated printing technology and materials systems. Building upon this software foundation, 3D Systems is pleased to announce it has signed an agreement to acquire Additive Works, subject to regulatory approval. Since its founding in 2015, this Bremen, Germany-based software company has focussed upon simulation-based optimisation and automation of the AM print preparation and workflow the AM print preparation and workflow. Using algorithms accessed through a user-friendly interface, Additive Works’ software allows a manufacturing engineer to determine optimum print set up, such as part orientation and support structures as well as directly adapt the process set up for effective thermal management and distortion compensation.