A very short introduction to an epic 'Bioprinting Story'
The Atomic Layers: S7E9 (00187)
Atomic Layer of the Day:
I recently mentioned my embarrassing episode in the interior finishing sector, working with stretch ceilings, eco-lamps, and Art Nouveau furniture. But that wasn’t the only “weird” episode in my long professional career. In 2018–2019, I was also a specialist in bioprinting!
However, in the case of bioprinting, it was a truly serious venture, and over nearly two years, we achieved a lot—especially considering that we financed everything with our own money.
Yes, my dear readers, in March 2019, my team and I presented Poland’s first bioprinter and the first Open Bioprinting Cluster in Europe, consisting of 21 machines.
The bioprinter, named SKAFFOSYS, printed using hydrogel bioinks of our own production, based on software we developed ourselves.
For context: when we started our project in March 2018, the Swedish company CELLINK had only been around for two years, and Allevi (now part of 3D Systems) for four. We were at the absolute forefront.
Ultimately, we lost our fight due to a lack of funding. We ran out of (our own) money, and we couldn’t secure new funding—despite having been awarded funds multiple times, only to have them taken away for reasons beyond our control.
It’s a rather unusual and very instructive story—not necessarily in the context of bioprinting, but rather in terms of business and the development of groundbreaking, truly innovative products ahead of their time.
I’m planning to write about this story, but it won’t be just one article—it will be more of a mini-book.
But today, taking this opportunity, I’d like to briefly introduce an extraordinary person I had the chance to meet thanks to my project. Someone whom, theoretically, most of you should have heard of, yet his name probably doesn’t ring a bell.
Michał Wszoła.
Yeah, exactly…
So, let me try to fix that.
Professor, Doctor Habilitated in Medical Sciences Michał Wszoła is a Polish surgeon and transplantologist. He is the creator and co-developer of the bionic pancreas—an innovative organ designed to restore the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels, which could revolutionize diabetes treatment.
He played a key role in Poland’s first pancreatic islet transplants and pancreas transplants. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Foundation for Research and Science Development and as the CEO of Polbionica, a company focused on innovative therapies using 3D bioprinting.
His team has developed the bionic pancreas using bioprinting technology. This advanced organ, created with proprietary bioinks TintBionic and Printiss, aims to restore the body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels, marking a breakthrough in the treatment of type 1 diabetes and chronic pancreatitis.
Currently, advanced preclinical trials are underway, and the first implantation of the bionic pancreas in a human is planned for 2026.
I met Professor Wszola in mid-2019 after the launch of our bioprinter. He visited us at the Bionanopark headquarters, where our SKAFFOSYS unit was housed in the Molecular and Nanostructural Biophysics Laboratory.
Later, we visited him at his Foundation’s headquarters (Polbionica was founded a few months later). We discussed a plan to collaborate by creating a machine compatible with their proprietary invention—a bioreactor. A bioreactor is a device that replicates the conditions inside the human body, including temperature, humidity, and pH levels. Our task was to merge the two—either integrating a bioprinter into a bioreactor or vice versa.
But nothing came of it—Wszola decided to try his luck with CELLINK and its Polish distributor. Unfortunately, that didn’t end well for the project. CELLINK transformed into BICO and moved on with its own work, while the distributor went bankrupt (I’ll spare its name out of pity).
After our discussions in 2019 and his decision to go with CELLINK, our contact ended. But in 2022, Wszola reconnected—unfortunately, by then, we had already definitively shut down our project. Nonetheless, we’ve occasionally kept in touch since then, including at the end of last December.
And I have to say—it’s both sad and frustrating.
I shut down my project due to a lack of funding for further development, but that was part of the plan. I wasn’t a scientist, a doctor, or a biologist—I was just a guy off the street who tried to build an innovative bioprinting machine. And while I succeeded, the world had other plans for me. That’s why I do what I do today.
But Prof. Dr. Hab. n. med. Michał Wszola is in a completely different league. He’s not just an outstanding surgeon but also a scientist, an inventor, and a leading authority in multiple fields of expertise.
His work on the bionic pancreas is groundbreaking. Yet, he faces the same problems we did.
On a completely different scale, of course, but he, too, is constantly fighting for funding. Conducting bioprinting projects in Poland is an extreme sport—a game played at the highest difficulty settings: “Ultraviolence” or “Nightmare.”
Interestingly, one of Polbionica’s shareholders is a co-author of The Witcher game and a co-founder of CD Projekt. But even that is just a drop in the ocean of what’s needed.
If I had known in 2018 what I know today—that some projects simply shouldn’t be undertaken in countries like Poland—my career would have looked completely different. No, I don’t regret the project—my bioprinter was the most ambitious thing I’ve ever done. I just should have known from the start that I never really had a chance.
If someone like Wszola struggles to secure funding for bioprinting a pancreas, what chance did I have with my regenerative facial bone implants?
But that’s a story for another time.
Atomic Layer from the Past:
News & Gossip:
It’s Sunday, so we look at this week’s stock market results… As expected, the biggest rise in valuation was recorded by Stratasys (+32%), followed by 3D Systems and Nano Dimension. Stratasys’ surge followed a $120M VC investment, marking its highest valuation in a year. Meanwhile, BigRep dropped -31%, correcting last week’s temporary rise.
Freemelt experienced a steep -50% drop, one of the largest recorded. The Swedish metal 3D printing firm secured a loan and a $10M investment round, but share dilution concerned investors. Despite overall market gains, some companies struggled, highlighting the volatility of the 3D printing sector.
And closing up this week, the International Code Council (ICC) has introduced ICC 1150, the first standard for 3D Automated Construction Technology (3DACT) for 3D concrete walls. Developed through ANSI-accredited procedures, it sets structural criteria for various applications.
You forgot to mention EnvisionTEC's 3D-Bioplotter, which has been marketed since 2002. But it's not a low-cost bioprinter, like the other two.