Aspect Biosystems Files IPO: Pioneering the Future of 3D-Bioprinted Human Tissues and Organs

Aspect BiosystemsHeadquartered in Vancouver, Canada, this award-winning biotechnology startup specializes in 3D bioprinting and human tissue engineering. The company manufactures a 3D printer capable of producing human tissues with full biological functionality, which can be utilized for testing hazardous or experimental drugs, with the ultimate goal of fabricating transplantable bioprinted organs.

Aspect Biosystems was founded by a group of researchers from the University of British Columbia in Canada, with initial funding provided by the university’s mentor-led entrepreneurship organization.entrepreneurship@UBC. Its proprietary bioprinting technology involves incorporating living cellular materials into liquefied hydrogels, which are then loaded into a 3D printer and extruded layer by layer into specific shapes. The resulting living biological structures are placed in incubation for culture, allowing them to become functional and create living tissues with biological activity.

In recent years, the demand for alternatives to animal testing has become increasingly urgent to prevent further harm to animals. Moreover, animal trials often yield inconsistent or false-positive results for many diseases and conditions, making them poor predictors of human responses. Drug testing using bioprinted human-like tissues can eliminate the inherent unreliability of animal testing and reduce drug development costs.

Using bioprinted human tissues for drug testing will significantly reduce, and potentially even gradually eliminate, the need for animal testing. Animal models that appear effective in preclinical trials often fail to translate to human physiology, resulting in wasted time and valuable research funding; with bioprinted human tissues, researchers can avoid such costly and time-consuming setbacks in later-stage trials. Furthermore, this technology can identify therapeutic approaches that are effective in human physiology—treatments that might have been discarded in early stages due to poor performance in animal studies. However, Aspect Biosystems’ ambitions extend far beyond drug testing; the company has even more ambitious plans for its technology.

“Our business strategy is to start small, and the drug development market is absolutely our best and most important strategic opportunity in the short term. In the future, personalized medicine will represent a vast market ripe for exploration; in the longer term, we are also opening a new door to implantable organ structures—possibly partial, rather than complete, organs,” said Konrad Walus, co-founder of Aspect Biosystems, in a recent interview with The Vancouver Sun. “If all goes well, people may usher in an era of artificially manufactured replacement organs.”

This technology also holds other applications, namely the use of a specific patient’s individual cellular material to create 3D-printed biological materials that are genetically matched to the patient. This will enable the screening out of medications to which the patient may have adverse reactions, or the testing of various available therapeutic options to identify the drug and regimen that offer the greatest efficacy with minimal harm for that specific patient. For example, in cancer patients, many treatments are often as lethal as the disease itself. With this technology, patient-specific tumor cells can be replicated, allowing doctors and researchers to identify treatment approaches tailored to the individual patient that carry the lowest risk and fewest adverse effects.

The aforementioned developments merely mark the beginning of bioprinting’s impact on the healthcare industry. As the technology continues to advance, all current limitations will cease to exist. The progression will start with 3D-printed test materials, move on to bioprinted organs, and ultimately lead to customized organs. For patients with compromised cardiac function, a healthy heart model can be obtained via 3D printing. For individuals seeking cosmetic enhancement, bioprinting offers the possibility of creating a new nose, eliminating the need for time-consuming reconstructive surgery of their existing facial features. In today’s world, where environmental pollution is increasingly severe, many people suffer from pulmonary discomfort caused by pollutants; bioprinted lungs could provide relief, alleviating their breathing difficulties.

To us today, this may all sound like science fiction; yet two decades ago, no one could have imagined that rocket engines would now be manufactured using titanium via 3D printing technology—and rockets equipped with such engines have recently launched successfully. This is the future that 3D bioprinting promises, and it is the future of medical science. In just a few short years, its progress has been so remarkable that its era will undoubtedly arrive far sooner than most people can imagine.

Compiled by Chen Xin | Edited by Mo Renying