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News – New Prize Ideas
Four Week Printed Lung Prize
27 January 2023
What is the Four Week Printed Lung Prize?
This Four Week Printed Lung Prize will offer a multi-million pound prize to the first team who can fabricate a functioning 3D printed lung, suitable for drug screening and other in-vitro applications, in a timeframe of Four weeks.
Advances in 3D printing technology over recent decades have created the opportunity to manufacture biologically active 3D human organs for the purpose of organ transplants, as well as drug screening, disease modelling, and other in-vitro applications. However, the current process of fabricating an artificial organ via 3D bioprinting from patient stem cells can take several months, which is too long to be clinically relevant for most applications.
Several key steps are required to successfully print a biologically active organ or organoid (miniature organ), each requiring further development and innovation in the platform technology to increase the speed and efficiency. These include:
- Biobanking to collect patient stem cells
- Preparation of suitable bioink formulations from patient stem cells that optimise both printability and print fidelity
- 3D printing of the extracellular matrix from patient specific 3D models
- Cell culturing to ensure the appropriate self-assembly of patient cells within the structure
With the optimisation of these steps, it is also important to ensure a level of affordability and equity of access for clinicians and researchers for the benefit of patients, ensuring equal access to quality care within the healthcare system. It will also be vital to take all the steps needed to gain regulatory approval for the technology deployed.
Why a challenge prize?
Complex 3D bioprinted organs like kidneys are still several years from being developed enough for human transplants, but advances can be made now through a prize in order to overcome the component challenges around materials, structural integrity, resolution, timeframe, and biological function.
We already know how to print accurate replicas of body parts e.g. human heart valves, as well as simple organs like cartilage and skin. We also have accurate 3D modelling tools to allow fabrication at the complexity and resolution needed for printed biological materials, as well as highly developed cell culture techniques. A prize can provide the incentive needed to bring these different areas of expertise together towards a clear, shared goal.
3D printing technology is advancing rapidly across a range of sectors for other applications – we can benefit from the tech advances made in other applications and transfer this knowledge. A prize could attract companies and researchers from other industries to tackle the problem.
There is currently a lot of uncertainty about how to classify and regulate 3D printed organs (e.g. whether it is a product, organ or medical device), and whether we need new regulatory frameworks or can use existing ones. Challenge prizes like the Longitude Prize on AMR have demonstrated that we can bring regulatory bodies on board as collaborators in the creation of new regulatory standards and then ensure that outcomes meet those standards.
Proposed prize structure
Teams may use automation of existing processes and other innovative approaches to reach this goal, but the winning solution must meet the following criteria:
- Timescale: Solutions should start from the point of collecting stem cells from a patient, and end with a functioning organ that is ready to be used for drug screening and other in vitro applications.
- Innovation: Winning solutions should include innovative technologies and/or innovative use of existing technologies to speed up the existing manufacturing workflow.
- Function: The fabricated organ/organoid should be fully vascularised and biologically active, with demonstrated clinical success when used for drug screening purposes.
- Equity of access: Winning solutions should demonstrate a pathway to equity of access to the technology, e.g. via use of open source software and hardware where possible.
- Sustainability: Winning solutions should demonstrate a pathway to financial sustainability, with business models that show a clear route to market (via public or private sector providers) as well as achieving regulatory approval.
The Challenge will be open to teams of innovators led by clinicians, companies and researchers who have demonstrated expertise in:
- 3D printing (biological materials as well as non-biomedical applications)
- Stem cell culturing
- In vitro testing
This prize idea is designed to be a conversation starter, so tell us what you think!
The best prize ideas are developed through extensive research and engagement with experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience of the problems they are focused on. We start with a first draft like the one above – then work to improve, refine and validate our thinking.
We’re particularly keen to have conversations about this idea with potential funders and organisations working in the field. Get in touch if you’re interested – or if you think you have a better idea – and we’ll schedule a call.