In the realm of personalized medicine, the utilization of 3D printing goes beyond the creation of prosthetics and implants, marking its path into the groundbreaking sphere of medication. With this technological progression, there is immense potential for personalized dosages and streamlined treatments to be designed according to specific patient prerequisites. A pioneer in this endeavor, French startup MB-Therapeutics is creating an innovative approach.
Residing at the Pharmacy Faculty in Montpellier, MB-Therapeutics has showcased its revolutionary process, which revolves around fabricating personalized medication using 3D printing. Named ‘Med-U Modular’, this methodology draws from an accumulated knowledge bank of eight years and distinguishes itself by its primary focus on children’s needs. Founders Ian Soulairol and Stéphane Roulon aim at utilizing the intensively customizable feature of 3D printing to ease the lives of young patients.
Thanks to this technology, MB-Therapeutics can create medicines with individualized dosages and forms, incorporating various active elements within a single pill. They aspire to eliminate the hurdles related to the usage of multiple medications. We conducted an interview with Stéphane Roulon, the CEO and one of the co-founders of MB-Therapeutics, to delve deeper into the sphere of personalized medicines and the company’s visions for the future.
3DN: Can you delve deeper into what MB Therapeutics is about and how it is intertwined with 3D printing?
MB Therapeutics is a start-up borne out of 8 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, hospital pharmacy, and academia in the field of pharmaceutical 3D printing. Being a part of the pharmaceutical industry since 2016 and having a vested interest in pharmaceutical 3D printing, our goal was to find a flexible means to accelerate the development of new drugs. This is where 3D printing became an indispensable ally, providing an innovative and efficient approach.
In 2019, our collaboration with Ian Soulairol, a hospital pharmacist, began. It was discovered there’s no automated process for producing personalized medicines and the solutions provided to children were subpar. Therefore, to tackle these problems and, in general, provide personalized medicines to all patients, we established MB Therapeutics.
3DN: How did the idea of merging 3D printing and pharmaceuticals to create personalized medicines come about?
The idea came into being in 2016, while we were searching for flexible, adaptable processes and 3D printing emerged. We initiated tests on conventional 3D printers to validate our concept, but soon realized the available materials did not satisfy our specific requirements. As a result, we started the development of pharmaceutical 3D printing. We then implemented this idea with the creation of the MED-U Modular, our pharmaceutical 3D printer.
Stéphane Roulon (left) and Ian Soulairol (right)
3DN: How does MB Therapeutic’s MED-U modular 3D printer work?
The MED-U Modular is the first industrial-grade pharmaceutical 3D printer. This printer is fully compliant with pharmaceutical standards, and comes with qualification files. The MED-U Modular already integrates 3 types of 3D printing technology, which can be quickly and easily interchanged. How it works is it incorporates gel/paste extrusion technology with volumetric dosing, ensuring optimum precision and reproducibility when depositing material.
At MB Therapeutics, we also offer fused modeling deposition (FDM) technology, specially adapted to the requirements of pharmaceutical filaments, known for their technicality, fragility or high flexibility. This has led us to develop a print head that can be dismantled quickly, while complying strictly with pharmaceutical standards. The integrated software meets all the requirements of the pharmaceutical industry, ensuring traceability, electronic signature, security, and seamless interconnection with other software depending on the needs of the healthcare players.
3DN: What are the advantages of using 3D printing technology for medical treatments, especially with sick children?
Currently, for certain illnesses, the pharmaceutical industry does not meet patients’ needs. For patients, especially children, capsules and tablets are impractical, as they carry the risk of choking or swallowing. What’s more, liquid suspensions, which may contain excipients (inert pharmaceutical ingredients) with known effects or be contraindicated for certain age groups, are less stable and run the risk of administration errors with dosing pipettes. We therefore offer a new solution enabling pharmacists to automatically produce medicines in personalized doses and forms, combining the advantages of tablets and liquid suspensions.
These new-generation medicines are suitable for children, as they can be dispersed in a very small volume of water. They are formulated without excipients with known effects, and reduce dose administration errors. We are the only company in France and worldwide to have an industrial-grade 3D printer that complies with pharmaceutical standards.
These 3D-manufactured drugs have a bean-like appearance.
3DN: How does pharmaceutical 3D printing help reduce the risk of dosing errors?
When a capsule is opened to administer the contents to a child, the dose can vary by up to 30%. In the case of liquid suspensions, around 30% of parents make dosing errors at home. Customized medicines manufactured by 3D printing help to secure and reduce the risk of dosing errors by offering formulations that are dispersible in a very small volume of water or orodispersible.
This assures parents that they can administer the prescribed dose to their children with complete confidence. On the pharmacist’s side, the production of these drugs using 3D printing enables the process to be automated with industrial manufacturing quality, while preserving the flexibility of manual compounding.
3DN: What are the upcoming projects for MB Therapeutics?
Between 2023 and 2026, we aim to collaborate with all hospitals, universities and industrial establishments wishing to develop new solutions for their patients. This collaboration can be achieved with the MED-U Modular, our pharmaceutical 3D printer. In 2026, we will be launching a turnkey solution, from printer to pharmaceutical cartridge, for dispensing pharmacies and hospitals. This solution will enable the automated, personalized manufacture of medicines, initially targeting children.
3DN: Any last words for our readers?
Every person is unique! So why shouldn’t our medicines be? At MB Therapeutics, we’re convinced that all medicines will soon be available in personalized dosages. You can find out more
HERE.
The startup has teamed up with Lynxter, experts in the development and manufacture of industrial 3D printers
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“Why did the 3D printer go to therapy? Because it had too many layers of unresolved issues!”
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