Dimension Inx Raises a $3.2M to Develop FDA-approved 3D Printed Tissue Implants

Chicago-based biofabrication startup Dimension Inx has raised $3.175 million to close its series seed financing round led by leading early-stage science venture firm KdT Ventures, oversubscribing its seed round. The company plans to use the funding to accelerate the commercial development and approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of its first 3D printed therapeutic implants that tissue repair and regeneration.

Founded in 2017 as a spinout from Northwestern University, Dimension Inx has developed a biofabrication process, with patented materials design and manufacturing platform, that creates 3D printed implants for human tissue repair and regeneration. The technology platform overcomes existing challenges in biomaterials and additive manufacturing, enabling important compositional and microstructural features in surgical implants that promote healing, not otherwise commercially feasible. Used primarily in reconstructive surgery, the startup has plans for its proprietary technology to bring new 3D printable materials and medical devices to market to aid tissue repair and bone regeneration in orthopedic applications. In order to translate their research from bench to bedside, Dimension Inx has partnered with renowned universities and hospitals, like Emory University, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Carnegie Mellon University, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and much more.

With the new seed funding, Dimension Inx will be able to create its first therapeutic implants for facial reconstruction in patients following trauma, as well as those with dental malformations due to congenital defects or aging. The company expects to complete preclinical studies for the FDA’s 510(k) premarket submission next summer, which will demonstrate that the device is safe and effective for marketing. Further participants in the investment, which was completed on November 10, 2020, include venture capital firm Better Ventures and Revolution Ventures‘ investment fund Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, which spotlights emerging startup hubs. This is the second funding round for Dimension Inx, the first one closed in 2019, and managed to raise $35,0000 from a member of the management team.

“Dimension Inx is the materials specialist of 3D bioprinting,” said Phil Grayeski, Principal at KdT Ventures. “Their approach to commercialization and regulatory approval is elegant and pragmatic, with each new product demonstrating the capabilities of their materials and informing the development and validation of their platform across broader and more complex applications in regenerative medicine. We believe the bioprinting world will be built upon the scaffolds Dimension Inx is creating, and we’re thrilled to be supporting this company.”

Dimension Inx co-founders Ramille Shah and Adam Jakus. Image courtesy of Dimension Inx

The announcement comes at a great time, as the company is becoming an emerging leader in the field of biofabrication thanks to its innovative and robust growing portfolio of more than a dozen issued and pending patents. When Dimension Inx’s original technology spun out of Ramille Shah’s lab at Northwestern University, the Associate Professor of Materials Sciences and Co-Founder of Dimension Inx was attempting to facilitate the translation and commercialization of the 3D printable material technologies developed at her lab. Shah is a renowned leader in materials development for 3D printing who has been working on everything from ovary organ and musculoskeletal tissue printing to new methods for printing metals, and Martian and lunar dust.

As the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at Dimension Inx, Shah has been guiding the overall scientific strategy of the startup by leading efforts towards FDA approval of initial base products. So far, the company claims its 3D-Painting biomaterials design and manufacturing system offers the versatility, manufacturability, and affordability necessary for widespread adoption of regenerative tissue-engineered medical products, that could fundamentally change how to treat human disease and debilitation.

The proprietary 3D-Painting technology allows for high loading of bioactive ingredients, rapid printing and drying at room temperature, and the elimination of processing techniques like cross-linking and sintering. This method for production and 3D printing of high-particle-content 3D inks is ideal for surgical implants that promote healing and tissue regeneration and to speed up manufacturing to support the commercial scaling of novel medical products.

Dimension Inx’s 3D-Painted Hyperelastic Bone on display at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City and The Cube Design Museum in the Netherlands as part of the Nature-Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial. Image courtesy of Dimension Inx

Securing the latest seed funding brings Dimension Inx one step closer to transform its biofabrication technology into a new class of clinical treatments that could dramatically improve the standard of care and address the shortage of donor tissues and organs, validating years of research. As part of its mission to deliver regenerative medical products to patients that need them, the company continues to move forward toward the clinical stages, teaming up with clinicians, surgeons, and forward-thinking medical products companies to deliver new medical solutions to patients.

Commenting on the deal, Dimension Inx’s Co-founder and CEO Caralynn Nowinski Collens said: “We are incredibly fortunate to partner with investors who support our big vision and appreciate our pragmatic approach to the market, while also understanding the deep science involved in getting there. We’re looking forward to advancing the science and expanding our strategic partnerships to address a much broader set of surgical applications.”