British scientists unveil world-leading technology to speed up drug discovery

A new 3D bio-printer that produces human-like tissue holds the potential to revolutionize the discovery of new drugs for cancer, heart disease and arthritis.

Scientists from Newcastle University, with funding from Versus Arthritis, have developed a unique approach to bioprinting cell-filled gels that can closely mimic human tissues, earning it a patent in the US and Europe.

While bioprinting has been around for several years, it has had multiple limitations that the team, led by Professor Kenny Dalgarno, has overcome. Such is the promise of the discovery, they have set up a spin out company, Jetbio, to attract investment to roll out the ReJI printer for use in labs across the world.

The groundbreaking process, called Reactive Jet Impingement (ReJI) bioprinting technology, jets two different liquids at each other, one containing cells suspended in a cross-linking solution and the other a polymer solution. These mix in mid-air to form a cell filled hydrogel that can be printed on almost any surface. The printing method increases cell density to around ten times that of other bioprinting technology and at a significantly faster rate too. The resulting tissues are much closer models to human tissue samples.

Lucy Donaldson, director of research at Versus Arthritis which funded the research through the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Therapies Centre Versus Arthritis, said: “The JetBio team are in the vanguard of research driving forward new technologies that promise to improve both the quality and speed of drug development. These advances can potentially bring new drugs to the population sooner – and that applies to treatments for arthritis, cancer and cardiovascular disease. This is a very exciting leap forward.”

A key stage of the drug development process is testing on in-vitro cell cultures which have traditionally involved growing cells on top of a flat surface, like a microscope slide. In vitro means a process or test performed outside the body in artificial conditions, such as a slide or in a test tube. However these 2D models aren’t comparable to the human body where cells interact with other cells in a 3D environment.

Bringing Jetbio’s technology to labs to print cells in a 3D matrix, more closely mimicking human tissues, can make tests more accurate thereby revolutionizing what is currently a protracted process with high rates of failure, explained Professor Dalgarno.

Drug discovery is a complicated and extremely costly process involving multiple rounds of testing before they reach clinical trials. In clinical investigations only one in ten of compounds tested proceeds to reach market. These rates of failure make it clear that we must improve our models so that they are more representative of drug response in humans. There is currently a lot of interest in developing better human in vitro models of diseases and tissues so we have better ways of testing drugs.”

Lucy Donaldson, director of research, Versus Arthritis

The landscape of drug discovery is changing and interest in new technology is growing. With the potential for the British start up to tap into a rapidly expanding global market, the Jetbio team were invited to showcase the technology to ministers and senior figures in public health, including Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Sir Chris Whitty, at the Houses of Parliament earlier this month. “There was a real buzz around our technology and the potential it holds” said Professor Dalgarno of the event, who is confident its discovery could have a far-reaching impact that could be felt in real terms across the globe. He added: “Drug development is very expensive. Therefore if you can do it more effectively and cheaper then it democratizes the process to a degree, as more people could then afford the drugs that did make it to market.”

The coffee machine-sized printers, also have a role in regenerative medicine. Treatments for arthritis, which affects 10 million in the UK and more than 500 million people worldwide, are currently limited. Despite this, the condition hampers people’s ability to live full and pain-free lives. For those with arthritis, the aim will be to develop the technology to enable more rapid and tailored cell culturing for use in already available Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI). Surgeons can repair cartilage damage by implanting special cells into defects in the cartilage. This technology could improve the accuracy and success of implants.

The printers have potential to be applied for a wide range of conditions. An example of the broader use is in the EC funded REBORN project where the team at Newcastle are developing an in vitro model of a heart chamber. This combines ReJI bioprinting with other bioprocessing techniques to create a tissue engineered “sleeve” which can be connected to small pumps to mimic the heart beating. The sleeve is unique in its structure, contains cardiomyocyte and fibroblast cells which would be present in heart tissue, and is being developed to allow testing new approaches to treating cardiac conditions.

Funding from the NC3Rs has allowed the printers to be showcased to the scientific community in Bristol, Newcastle and Cambridge at three workshops held in February , and the printers are heading for use in the labs of those three universities.