Bioprinters leading the 3D printer market

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The North American medical and pharmaceutical industries are spurring innovation in the 3D printing market. 

An increasing demand of tissues and organs for applications in drug discovery, testing, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine, among others, is driving the growth of the global 3D bioprinter market, a new study from Ireland-based Research and Markets says.  

According to the latest edition of the ‘Global 3D Bioprinting Market Analysis and Forecast (2016-2022)’, the market is estimated to experience growth at a CAGR of 21.7 per cent between that time. 

North America led the way in terms of generated revenue in 2015, followed by Europe. However, the Asia-Pacific region has the maximum potential to grow in the forecast period, the report adds.  

“If the industry has the prospects of growing with the same pace, it will cross $581.8 million in total market value by the end of forecast period,” the company adds.  

3D bioprinting is generally used for the generation and transplantation of tissues, “including multilayered skin, bone, vascular grafts, tracheal splints, heart tissue and cartilaginous structures”, the report, which was released on Nov. 30, says. It explains that bioprinting is a technology that “showcases a viable opportunity to generate patient-specific tissue for the development of accurate, targeted and completely personalized treatments.” 

Driving the market are factors such as an increasing need for organs and tissues, a rising geriatric population, high investment on research and development and government support, despite a 3D bioprinters’ high cost.  

Currently, real life applications of organ printing are limited to in-vitro drug testing, which is used in research and studies by the pharmaceutical industry for the discovery of new drugs and toxicity testing.