REGENHU Unveils New Bioprinters, Software and More to Revamp Business

Innovative biomedical company REGENHU just launched its next-generation 3D bioprinters and software as part of its ongoing mission to revolutionize medicine. Called the R-GEN series, the new systems consolidate years of development on bioprinting devices and aim to excel in ergonomics, quality, friendliness, and performance.

Each R-GEN bioprinter is personally configured to specifically meet the bespoke research goals of its users. They combine jetting, contact dispensing, and electro-spinning and writing technology—allowing the creation of micro- and nano-fibers—with a full range of auxiliary process options to build either simple or complex cell-laden constructs. At the moment, REGENHU offers two versions in the series, a tabletop 3D bioprinter called the R-GEN 100 and a larger 3D bioprinting station in a biosafety enclosure, the R-GEN 200.

Together with SHAPER, the new bioprinting management software, the platforms are designed to cover the entire biofabrication process, including step-by-step monitoring and comprehensive, real-time adaptation of bioprinting parameters to ensure unmatched levels of print quality and repeatability in a simpler, more efficient way. The new series will give researchers worldwide the use of complex design architectures for a wide range of applications, from engineered tissues, such as skin, bone, and cartilage, to drug discovery, as well as help to produce personalized pharmaceutical compounds.

“The R-GEN platform and SHAPER have been designed to stay ahead of the ever-changing needs of our partners in order to evolve research and clinical applications in the bioprinting field,” said Simon MacKenzie, Chief Executive Officer at REGENHU. “Our commitment to our users, present and future, is that we will stay with them through their journey, with bioprinting instruments that enhance their ability to realize their research goals, however ambitious.”

In the new R-GEN 3D bioprinters and SHAPER software, REGENHU combines Italian design with Swiss precision engineering. At 160 kilograms, the tabletop R-GEN 100 occupies less than a square meter and can accommodate up to five printing tools with individual temperature control capability. As well as a vacuum sample mounting system, four different printing work zones with temperature control options, needle and substrate calibration systems, and light-curing for in-process material crosslinking, users can even adjust parameters in real-time.

The R-GEN 200 has similar capabilities, but at 600 kilograms it occupies a much larger workplace and comes with a computer, a type II biosafety enclosure, built-in anti-vibration systems, an ultraviolet germicidal lamp, and a configurable workbench.

The launch of the new platforms is happening at a time when the field of bioprinting is rapidly evolving to become a crucial tool for researchers, especially in today’s context, with a pandemic that has taken over most of 2020. Furthermore, The New York Times recently recognized that printing human tissue could not only be used for testing potential treatments for cancer and other diseases, but it could turn into a “possible weapon” against the newly discovered coronavirus COVID-19.

Over the last decade, bioprinting has evolved from creating tissues to more complex structures with the ultimate goal of recreating human tissues and organs for transplants and repairs. While bioprinting organs are still far in the future, the technique continues to be perfected as researchers are increasingly becoming interested in leveraging the technology. Opening up a range of applications within the medical field to offer new and innovative treatments to complicated conditions, such as acute traumatic injuries or chronic degenerative diseases

The challenges to those at the forefront of research, include the need for more reliable, efficient, and cost-effective printing processes, technologies, and tools to successfully deliver cells with high cell viability and to design complex multi-material constructs.

For research-driven REGENHU, developing bioprinting platforms to assist research and scientific communities, is part of its core. The Swiss-based pioneer was founded in 2007 with a vision to revolutionize medicine. In November 2019, biochemist and scientific business manager Simon MacKenzie became REGENHU’s new CEO. Following in the footsteps of the company’s founder and former CEO Marc Thurner, who played an instrumental part in creating and shaping the business and recently left to create a new startup, MacKenzie has been exploring new opportunities for the company.

Since then, the company has undergone several changes. We can now find a new logo, site, software, and a new signature line of bioprinters. The company suggests that they can configure the R-GEN platforms to perform research and development projects in a wide range of applications including tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, complex cellular drug discovery models, and drug tablet formulation for personalized medicine. However, REGENHU has three particular areas that are of active interest: human skin printing, personalized medicine, and cellular drug discovery models.

Benefiting from a network of global partnerships with leading scientific innovators and industrial players, REGENHU is looking to remain at the forefront of the bioprinting field. With technology that evolves alongside its partners’ research needs as it continues to expand into new application areas. As MacKenzie told 3DPrint.com earlier this year, “as we cannot achieve our end goal on our own, I am here to nurture the important connections with our user community. Only by listening to their valuable insights and solving problems with them, we will push the technology onward.”