Need a new nose? A Nasdaq-listed firm can 3D print one for you

Transplanting is not the only way to get a new nose, ear, cartilage or bone. Biomaterials churned out with “bio-ink” and a coffee machine-sized 3D bioprinter are the new alternative, and this is not Twilight Zone.

Cellink, a Swedish company, with a nimble team of 20 people, are making the rounds pedalling the printers around the world, particularly in China. Founded in January last year, it raised investor eyebrows by going public on the Nasdaq within 10 months, with its shares 1070 per cent oversubscribed.

“3D bio-printing makes it possible for you to engineer cells to grow into a heart valve to replace one that is damaged from heart disease,” Gusten Danielsson, chief financial officer with Sweden-based Cellink told the South China Morning Post in an interview.

“We have seen more companies start adopting it in [cosmetics testing],”said Danielsson, who had just finished a marketing tour around Asia. ”Reactions from Chinese clients truly exceeded our expectations,” he added.

While universities and research institutes remain the biggest customer group of these machines, consumer giants such as Procter & Gamble and L’Oreal have attempted to explore 3D printing of things like human skin since 2015 as they try to step away from animal testing.