TUMOURPRINT · Project

Automated 3D Tumour Printing Platform That Cuts Drug Testing Failure Rates

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Imagine testing a new cancer drug not on flat cells in a dish or on lab animals, but on tiny 3D replicas of real human tumours — printed like documents from a printer, hundreds at a time. That's what CELLINK built: a robotic bioprinting platform that churns out lifelike tumour models so pharma companies can see which drugs actually work before spending billions on clinical trials. Think of it as a crash-test dummy, but for cancer treatment — you test the drug on the printed tumour instead of guessing whether it will work in a real patient.

By the numbers

40+

Countries where CELLINK technology is already commercialised

Cell-specific bioinks already optimised and available

Generations of bioprinters previously commercialised

New employees hired during the project

Trademarked product name secured

Total project deliverables completed

The business problem

What needed solving

Cancer drug development wastes billions because current testing methods — flat cell cultures and animal models — poorly predict how drugs will perform in actual human patients, leading to catastrophically high failure rates in clinical trials. Pharma companies need a way to test drug candidates on realistic human tumour models at scale before committing to expensive clinical stages.

The solution

What was built

A high-throughput bioprinting platform (TumourPrint) that automatically prints realistic 3D tumour models using live cells and specialised bioinks, integrated with robotics and non-destructive analytical methods to score drug responses. The project delivered 7 total deliverables including a trademarked product name and the hiring of 10 employees to support commercialisation.

Audience

Who needs this

Large pharma companies with oncology drug pipelines facing high clinical trial attritionContract research organizations (CROs) running preclinical cancer drug screeningBiotech startups developing cancer therapies needing fast, affordable preclinical validationAcademic medical centres building personalised cancer treatment programsRegulatory agencies looking for alternatives to animal testing in drug approval

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Pharmaceutical drug development

enterprise

Target: Large pharma companies with oncology pipelines

If you are a pharmaceutical company losing drug candidates in late-stage clinical trials — this project developed a high-throughput bioprinting platform that produces realistic 3D tumour models in an automated, reproducible way. The platform integrates robotics and non-destructive analytics to score drug responses, helping you weed out failing compounds before they reach expensive human trials. CELLINK already commercialised bioprinters in over 40 countries before this project.

Contract research and preclinical testing

mid-size

Target: CROs (Contract Research Organizations) running preclinical oncology studies

If you are a contract research organization struggling with the low predictive value of 2D cell cultures and animal models — this platform enables serial production of standardised tumour models that mimic the human tumour microenvironment including size, heterogeneity and vascularity. Automated printing means you can scale testing capacity without proportional staff increases. The company hired 10 new employees specifically to bring this technology to market.

Biotech and oncology startups

SME

Target: Cancer therapy startups needing fast preclinical validation

If you are a biotech startup developing cancer therapies and need to validate drug candidates quickly without burning through your runway on animal studies — this platform offers automated, precise tumour model production using 18 cell-specific bioinks already optimised by CELLINK. The trademarked product built under this project means a ready commercial solution you can license or purchase rather than building in-house capability from scratch.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What does the platform cost and what is the pricing model?

Specific pricing is not disclosed in the project data. CELLINK (now BICO Group) has a track record of commercialising three generations of bioprinters and 18 bioinks, suggesting an established equipment-plus-consumables business model. Contact the company directly through cellink.com for current pricing.

Can this scale to industrial-level drug screening volumes?

Yes — the platform was specifically designed for high-throughput serial production. It integrates robotics for automated tumour model fabrication and non-destructive analytical methods for scoring drug responses, meaning it can process large volumes without manual intervention per sample.

What is the IP situation — can we license this technology?

The project produced a trademarked product name, indicating protected commercial branding. CELLINK/BICO Group holds the IP as the sole consortium partner. Licensing or purchase arrangements would need to be negotiated directly with BICO Group AB in Sweden.

How does this compare to our current animal testing and 2D cell culture methods?

The project objective states that current oncology approaches rely on 2D mono-cell cultures and animal models that produce high attrition rates for cancer drug candidates in clinical trials. TumourPrint models mimic size, heterogeneity and vascularity of the human tumour microenvironment, which flat cell cultures cannot replicate. This also addresses growing ethical and regulatory pressure to reduce animal testing.

Is this ready to use today or still in development?

The project closed in January 2021 with deliverables including a trademarked product name and 10 hired employees, both strong commercialisation signals. CELLINK had already commercialised its technology in over 40 countries before this project. Based on available project data, the platform reached at least advanced pilot stage.

What technical integration is needed in our existing lab?

The platform integrates robotics and non-destructive analytical methods into a single system. CELLINK designed it according to user needs, with three prior generations of bioprinters informing the design. Based on available project data, specific lab requirements should be discussed directly with the company.

Is there ongoing support and further development?

CELLINK (rebranded as BICO Group) is an active commercial entity that grew ten-fold since its 2016 founding and operates in over 40 countries. This suggests established customer support infrastructure. The company continues to develop bioprinting technology commercially beyond this EU project.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a single-company project: BICO Group AB (formerly CELLINK), a Swedish SME that received SME Instrument Phase 2 funding. The 100% industry consortium with zero academic partners signals a commercially-driven project rather than basic research. CELLINK was already an established bioprinting company operating in over 40 countries with three product generations on the market. The sole-partner structure means all IP stays with one entity, simplifying licensing and commercial negotiations for potential buyers. For a business looking to adopt this technology, you are dealing with one proven commercial partner, not a fragmented academic consortium.

BICO GROUP ABCoordinator · SE

How to reach the team

BICO Group AB (formerly CELLINK) is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Reach out through their commercial website at cellink.com or look for their business development team on LinkedIn.

Order a report on this consortium See BICO GROUP AB profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want a warm introduction to BICO Group's bioprinting team? SciTransfer can connect you with the right person and brief them on your specific needs before the call.

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