Israeli regenerative medicine company CollPlant which focuses on 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs signed a license, development, and commercialization agreement with United Therapeutics Corporation for 3D bioprinted lung transplants.
Maryland-based United Therapeutics will use Collplant’s bio-ink technology, a proprietary recombinant human collagen (rhCollagen) produced from tobacco plants. This biological ink can be used in a 3D printer as a scaffolding for producing lung transplant implants with the organ manufacturing capabilities of United Therapeutics subsidiary Lung Biotechnology PBC.
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Under financial terms of the agreement, United Therapeutics will pay Ness Ziona-based Collplant an upfront payment of $5 million and milestone payments of up to $15 million if United Therapeutics expand the field of its license to add up to three additional organs other than lungs.
Founded by Hebrew University nanotechnology Professor, Oded Shoseyov, CollPlant will manufacture BioInk for a few years to meet development process demand and will provide technical support to United Therapeutics as it establishes a U.S. facility for the manufacture of CollPlant’s rhCollagen and BioInk.
The Company’s flagship BioInk provides an ideal building block for 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs, and its line of rhCollagen products includes a soft tissue repair matrix for treating tendinopathy and a wound repair matrix to promote a rapid optimal healing of acute and chronic wounds.
“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,” said United Therapeutics chairwoman and CEO Martine Rothblatt.
Yehiel Tal, CollPlant CEO stated, “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. As a pioneer in the field, United Therapeutics is the perfect partner for us.”
