Understanding Personalized Medicine

Personalized medicine, also known as precision medicine, is an emerging approach in healthcare and drug development that utilizes genetics, molecular biology, and patient-specific data to tailor therapies and dosages for individual patients. Unlike traditional one-size-fits-all approaches, precision medicine aims to match each patient with the most effective treatment, improving outcomes, decreasing adverse effects, and reducing failures in drug development.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is personalized medicine?

Personalized medicine is an approach to healthcare that tailors treatments to individual patients based on their unique genetic, cellular, and physiological characteristics. By using patient-derived cells and advanced 3D models such as spheroids and organoids, researchers can predict drug responses more accurately and design therapies that are optimized for each patient.
Traditional “one-size-fits-all” treatments often fail to account for patient variability, leading to inconsistent outcomes. Personalized medicine addresses this challenge by creating patient-specific models that replicate real tissue environments. This improves drug efficacy, reduces adverse effects, and accelerates the development of precision therapies for conditions like cancer, rare diseases, and chronic disorders.
Bioprinting plays a critical role in personalized medicine by enabling the creation of patient-specific tissue constructs. Using bioprinting technologies, researchers can combine cells with tailored biomaterials to replicate native tissue architecture for drug testing, disease modeling, and regenerative therapies. This approach supports precision treatment strategies and reduces reliance on animal models.

All BICO technologies are easy-to-use systems with intuitive software and robust but simple setup procedures, guiding users and helping them in the development of new treatments for personalized medicine. Our 3D bioprinters are designed for ease of use, with intuitive software interfaces that simplify complex processes. CELLINK bioprinters include user-friendly controls, pre-validated protocols, and training resources to ensure smooth adoption. This makes it possible for researchers to integrate bioprinting into personalized medicine studies without extensive technical expertise.

Our team of experts is always available to consult on selecting the most suitable system for specific applications, and a rich knowledge base is also available for our customers.

How we support personalized medicine

BICO supports the advancement of personalized medicine by providing technologies that overcome limitations of traditional drug development, as well as through technologies supporting the manufacturing of personalized devices.

Instead of relying on costly, time-consuming animal models that often fail to predict human responses, our bioprinters, dispensers, and biomaterials enable the creation of patient-derived 3D disease models, constructs for regenerative therapies, drug delivery scaffolds, and reproducible 3D in vitro tissue models. 

Continuous glucose monitoring

SCIENION’s sciFLEXARRAYER range support the manufacturing of real-time monitoring devices, such as glucose monitoring devices, enabling patients and doctors to take real-time action based on current needs.

Predictive in vitro testing

Bioprinted 3D models created with CELLINK’s bioprinters better replicate in vivo biology, offering improved translation from pre-clinical in vitro studies to clinical outcomes, while reducing failure rates for precision medicines.

Precise, on-demand drug delivery

With CELLINK’s bioprinters, researchers can fabricate ultra-precise, drug-loaded scaffolds and microneedles for controlled and localized delivery. Our platforms enable personalized dosing, combination therapies, and sustained drug release at the target site, enhancing treatment efficacy and compliance.

Patient-specific disease models

CELLINK bioprinters allow researchers to bioprint tissues directly with patient-derived cells, enabling ex vivo testing of medicine to identify optimal therapies while minimizing risk for patients.

Automated, scalable, and flexible platforms

CELLINK’s technologies offer precision, reproducibility, and ease of use, with compatibility across formats ranging from 6- to 384-well plates and custom vessels. Designed for benchtop integration, they support the development of point-of-care devices and personalized medicine workflows.

Sub-Applications

Personalized medicine leverages patient-derived models to improve treatment outcomes and accelerate precision therapies. Below, we list a few customer cases ranging from regenerative medicine, to drug-loaded scaffolds and personalized cancer models.

Pediatric Heart Valves

Personalized, 3D-printed pediatric heart valves are now being engineered to match each patient’s unique cardiac anatomy. Made from bioresorbable polymers, patient cells, or expandable scaffolds, allowing the valve to expand or be periodically dilated. Traditional valves are limited by fixed sizes and materials that do not support growth, leading to repeated, high-risk surgeries as children outgrow their initial implants. This approach is a major advancement in managing congenital heart disease via precision medicine.
Customer Spotlight

Cartilage Grafts

3D bioprinted cartilage grafts are redefining personalized medicine by offering an alternative and major improvement to traditional scaffold-based techniques. This method enables surgeons to implant custom-shaped, patient-specific grafts that streamline reconstructive surgeries, reducing the need for intraoperative shaping, significantly reducing surgery time, and ultimately improving clinical outcomes.
Customer Spotlight

Drug-loaded implants for reconstructive surgery

Drug-loaded implants are being developed to provide localized, sustained delivery of therapeutics directly at the surgical site while also providing structural support for tissue regeneration. Advanced bioprinting enables precise control over implant architecture and drug kinetics, minimizing systemic side effects and ensuring therapeutic agents, such as chemotherapies and anti-inflammatory drugs, are released exactly where needed. This approach not only enhances healing but also represents a major step forward in post-surgical personalized care.
Publication

Personalized oncology models

3D bioprinted, patient-specific tumor models are redefining cancer research by replicating each patient’s unique tumor microenvironment. Using combinations of cancer cells, immune cells, and stem cells, these models allow for rapid, multi-drug testing in physiologically relevant conditions. This approach improves predictive accuracy, reduces reliance on animal models, and accelerates the development of personalized therapies tailored to individual patients.

Customer spotlight

Products for Personalized Medicine

BICO offers a 3D bioprinters, high-quality  biomaterials, and modular inline manufacturing devices that support various personalized medicine workflows.

sciFLEXARRAYER Range

Scalable precision microdispensing for multiplex miniaturized assays

GO

Materials by Advanced BioMatrix

3D hydrogels, extracellular matrices, reagents, and more

GO

BIO X™

The go-to bioprinter for academics, researchers and innovators

GO

BIO X6™

Delivering unparalleled bioprinting flexibility with 6 printheads

GO

BIONOVA X

Direct-in-well, high speed and high resolution 3D bioprinting

GO

LUMEN X™

Experience the standard for benchtop DLP bioprinters

GO

BIO ONE

Easy-to-use, syringe-based dispensing of hydrogel droplets

GO

Contact Us

Get in touch with a BICO expert today to discuss your research goals, explore our innovative solutions, and find the approach that perfectly aligns with your lab’s needs. Whether you’re looking for a quote, a product demo, or technical guidance, our team is here to support you every step of the way.
Contact Us
Speak with an Expert