Desktop Health announced the first patients have been treated with CMFlex, an off-the-shelf 3D printed synthetic bone graft product developed and manufactured by Chicago-based Dimension Inx on the 3D-Bioplotter.
CMFlex was co-invented by Dimension Inx co-founders, Dr. Ramille Shah, CSO, Head of R&D, (pictured right) and Dr. Adam Jakus, CTO, Head of Technology Strategy, (pictured left). The duo have been developing the material and product since 2009 on the Desktop Health 3D-Bioplotter. (Photo: Business Wire)
Founded in 2017, Dimension Inx is a regenerative therapeutics company that designs, develops, and manufactures therapeutic products to restore tissue and organ function. The company owns four Desktop Health 3D-Bioplotters—two used for R&D and two used for manufacturing their commercial CMFlex product.
Dimension Inx received FDA clearance of CMFlex in December of 2022. CMFlex is currently available to a limited number of key surgeons with a broader release to follow later in 2024.
The first jaw cases were performed by Dr. Derek Steinbacher, director of West River Surgery Center (Guilford, CT ), Former Professor Plastic surgery and Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery at Yale New Haven Health, and Dr. Brian Farrell, DDS, MD, of the Carolinas Center for Oral & Facial Surgery (Charlotte, NC). Procedures performed included a mandibular angle augmentation (surgery of the lower jaw) and maxillary segmental osteotomy (surgery of the upper jaw).
CMFlex has also been used in dental socket preservation surgeries for future dental implant placement by Dr. Robert Bosack, DDS, Oral, Maxillofacial & Dental Implant Surgery (Orland Park, IL).
“These first cases are not only indicative of a new generation of biomaterials, but also highlight our technology platform’s unique capability to rapidly create biomaterials that direct cell behavior to restore tissue and organ function. It is a proud moment for us to be able to demonstrate the value of therapeutics derived from integrating novel biomaterial design and 3D-printing approaches,” said Dr. Adam Jakus, CTO, head of technology strategy, and Dimension Inx co-founder.
Dr. Ramille Shah, CSO, head of R&D, and co-founder of Dimension Inx, added, “We’re excited by the interest we’ve already received from surgeons who recognize the importance of a ready-to-use solution with great handling characteristics and the ability to cut and shape the graft to match the defect site.”
About CMFlex
CMFlex primarily consists of hydroxyapatite, a naturally occurring mineral found in bone, combined with biodegradable polylactide-co-glycolide (PLG) polymer. Both materials have a long history demonstrating biocompatibility and clinical utility. Dimension Inx combines these base materials into a proprietary, microstructurally porous composite material known as Hyperelastic Bone, as first published in Science Translational Medicine in 2016.
This unique, easily deployable bone repair material is then 3D printed into CMFlex, which has an engineered architecture with nano, micro, and macro-level features designed to promote natural bone regeneration after implantation, eliminating the need for an invasive autograft.
The resulting product is one that surgeons can size for each patient and is uniquely capable of absorbing fluid, enabling it to control bleeding during surgery while aiding the bone remodeling process post-implantation.
“After many years of research and development, we’re proud to see the first bioprinting applications move into clinical use with patients,” said Ric Fulop, founder and CEO of Desktop Metal. “We are especially proud that our 3D-Bioplotter platform is accurate, reliable, and robust enough to take customer inventions from R&D to commercial manufacturing on the same platform.”
The 3D-Bioplotter is a sophisticated extrusion-based 3D printer that processes liquids, melts, pastes, gels, or other materials, including cells, through a needle tip on a Swiss-made, 3-axis gantry system with high accuracy and repeatability, along with tight controls for temperature, sterility, and design. The 3D-Bioplotter offers eight printheads with the widest range of temperatures in bioprinting—from 2°C to 500°C (35.6°F to 932°F)—enabling complex, multi-material medical parts.
The 3D-Bioplotter is also the world’s most cited and researched bioprinter in peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals, with more than 2,490 citations and more than 640 research papers directly produced with the system. To learn more, visit TeamDM.com/3DBioplotter.
About Desktop Metal
Desktop Metal (NYSE: DM) is driving Additive Manufacturing 2.0, a new era of on-demand, digital mass production of industrial, medical, and consumer products. Our innovative 3D printers, materials, and software deliver the speed, cost, and part quality required for this transformation. We’re the original inventors and world leaders of the 3D printing methods we believe will empower this shift, binder jetting, and digital light processing. Today, our systems print metal, polymer, sand, and other ceramics, as well as foam and recycled wood.
Manufacturers use our technology worldwide to save time and money, reduce waste, increase flexibility, and produce designs that solve the world’s toughest problems and enable once-impossible innovations. Learn more about Desktop Metal and our #TeamDM brands at www.desktopmetal.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties.
Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this document, including but not limited to the risks and uncertainties set forth in Desktop Metal, Inc.’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Desktop Metal, Inc. assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
