How Dal Researchers Spun a Bioengineering Discovery into a Medical Industry Innovation
While leading a research team at Dalhousie’s School of Biomedical Engineering, Dr. John Frampton invented a technique for manufacturing protein fibres to be used as scaffolding for tissue engineering applications. Like rebar in a concrete building, these fibres would provide an underlying framework that cells could latch onto to artificially grow structures for use in the human body.
While the initial protein fibers were encouraging, they didn’t contain enough collagen to be clinically successful. To address this, he recruited fellow Dal researcher Dr. Laurent Kreplak and graduate student Karan Chowdhry.
Together, the team finetuned the manufacturing process – upping the collagen content from two per cent to 100. More importantly, they developed the world’s first fully automated manufacturing system to produce collagen fibers at commercial scale levels, and their startup, 3D BioFibR Inc., was born.
Lab2Market Solution
“It was really helpful to learn how to conduct a customer discovery interview and really understand what your customer’s needs are.” — Karan Chowdhry, director or business development at 3DBioFiBR.
As the team prepared to officially launch at The Labs by Invest Nova Scotia, on Dalhousie’s campus, they brought on experienced biotech entrepreneur Kevin Sullivan as CEO. Dr. Frampton assumes the role of Chief Scientific Officer, while Dr. Kreplack serves as a technical advisor. Chowdhry is now Director of Business Development where he applies what he learned in Lab2Market Launch to craft the company’s commercial strategy, including forecasting cash flow, sales, and the cost of goods.
The Impact
3D BioFibR’s state-of-the-art, fully automated manufacturing system produces collagen fibers at an astounding rate of 1,000 metres per second. These collagen fibers cater to diverse tissue engineering needs, including serving as additives for 3D bioprinting and essential cellular scaffolds for 2D and 3D cell and tissue cultures.
The company has raised $3.7 million in seed financing to bring its premium collagen fibres to market. In June 2023, 3DBioFibR signed a development deal with Australian-based ReNerve Inc. to build a prototype to be used to in nerve regeneration
Frampton and Chowdhry turned to Dal Innovates for guidance on how to turn this innovative biomedical manufacturing process into a company. They completed Lab2Market Discover and Lab2Market Launch programs, where expert coaches imparted essential entrepreneurship skills, including how to pitch their company to investors. They also participated in the Creative Destruction Lab – Atlantic, receiving advice on everything from business strategy and IP protection to product development and marketing.
“We think our biomaterial will enable many new technologies to get to the next stage. So, the goal is to stay hyper-focused on improving production, quality, and efficiency, and by doing so, make the biggest impact across tissue engineering,” Chowdhry concludes. “Our fibres will hopefully help these technologies get closer to the clinic — that’s really the goal of the business.”
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