CGBio, specializing in bio regenerative medicine (CEO Hyun Seung Yu), announced on the 29th that they have signed a research contract with the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) for advance into the global market for patient-customized medical devices.
The research contract aims to foster collaboration in developing next-generation materials for Patient Specific Implants (PSI) Platform, a patient-customized 3D implant printing system and further developing an advanced bio-ink, for successful entry into the American market. The contract is worth about USD 1.7 billion (KRW 220 million).
The WFIRM, an affiliated research institute specializing in regenerative medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine, is renowned as one of the world’s leading research institutes in the field of regenerative medicine. CGBio is planning to continue its research with professor Lee Sang-Jin’s team, the leading group in 3D bio printing at the research institute.
Per the terms of the contract, CGBio will provide professor Lee Sang-Jin’s team with an artificial bone ingredient called bioactive glass ceramic (BGS)-7, which will be printed using the PSI platform. BGS-7 is a new high-strength bioactive ceramic material, jointly developed with Seoul National University New Material Research Institute over a period of about 10 years. It features an ability to directly bond with bones and at the same time, enhance the structural integrity of products it is incorporated into.
The research team plans to more than double the content of BGS-7 in artificial bones so that the artificial bones can better bond with adjacent bones within the human body, enhance their mechanical strength so that they can keep the shape under external pressure while also facilitating printing using 3D printers. In addition, they will develop a 3D printer, optimized to work in synergy with the material.
PSI Platform provides a one-stop service where hospitals can send CT and MRI data to the company and specialists at the company’s design centers can use the data to derive implant modeling data and send the derived data to printing centers worldwide for printing of 3D implants. The platform is the first of its kind in the nation, designed to overcome the personnel and spatial limitations present in existing systems that require the establishment of design centers and printing centers in various regions and the recruitment of employees for each of the centers.
With projections that the global market for customized 3D printed implants will reach USD 9 billion (KRW 11.5 trillion) by 2030, CGBio’s possession of proprietary materials amid its overseas expansion is expected to bring a significant competitive edge in the global market.
CEO Hyun Seung Yu said, “CGBio already has a strength in 3D printing, particularly with the new high-strength bioactive ceramic material BGS-7, but we intend to further enhance the functionality to gain a more significant competitive edge in the American market,“ adding, “This research initiative is expected to lead us into the global 3D printing market, starting with the US, and further provide the ground we can contribute to the patient-customized implant treatment environment.”
▲ CGBio set to develop next-generation patient-customized artificial bones with an American research institute in regenerative medicine
▲ CGBio set to develop next-generation patient-customized artificial bones with an American research institute in regenerative medicine
