Pandorum Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a Bangalore-based biotechnology startup working on tissue engineering, announced that it had developed artificial tissue that performs the functions of the human liver. These 3-D printed living tissues enable affordable medical research with reduced animal and human trials, and will eventually lead to full scale transplantable organs, reports Business Standard.
Supported by grants from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, Government of India, Pandorum Technologies works on design and manufacturing of functional human tissues for medical research, therapeutic and other applications.
“This is a significant milestone,” said Dr. Tuhin Bhowmick, a PhD from the Indian Institute of Science, and co-founder of the company, “being able to engineer complex tissues such as the human liver is no easy task.”
“Liver toxicity and drug metabolism are the key hurdles, and [the main] contributors to failed human trials. Our 3-D bio-printed mini-livers that mimic the human liver will serve as test platforms for discovery and development of drugs with better efficacy, less side-effects and at lower costs,” said Arun Chandru, co-founder and managing director of Pandorum Technologies.
“Yes, it is a multi-billion dollar fast-growing market, and we intend to continue being a leader.” added Chandru, “More importantly, our technology has the potential to impact millions of lives.”
