BIOLIFE4D
BIOLIFE4D is a pioneering biotech company laser focused on leveraging advances in life sciences and tissue engineering to 3D bioprint a viable human heart suitable for transplant – lifesaving technology that gives patients the gift of time. With BIOLIFE4D, a patient-specific, fully functioning heart will be created through 3D bioprinting and the patient’s own cells, eliminating the challenges of organ rejection and long donor waiting lists that plague existing organ transplant methods. Operated by seasoned business leaders and guided by world-class biomedical engineers and life sciences experts, BIOLIFE4D is driving a movement to transform the treatment of heart disease, the leading cause of death among both men and women worldwide.
Company details
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- Business Type:
- Technology
- Industry Type:
- Pharmaceuticals
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
About Us
BIOLIFE4D is committed to perfecting the technology to make viable organ replacement a safe, accessible and affordable reality.
BIOLIFE4D’s groundbreaking approach will converge recent breakthroughs in regenerative medicine, stem cell biology, 3D printing techniques and computing technology that will make organ replacement commercially viable and commonplace globally.
Casting the Future of Organ Transplants
Current human organ transplant capabilities – with their myriad challenges, high costs and other deficiencies – are ripe for the kind of innovation and process optimization that BIOLIFE4D looks to deliver. In addition to current immunotherapy drug complications and donor organ rejection risks, organ transplant surgery and the associated follow-up are also expensive, costing patients more than $300 billion in 2012. In the U.S. alone, more than 100,000 citizens are on a transplant waiting list, and many others need to be on the list but do not qualify due to disqualifying factors. In 2009, 25 people per day died while on the waiting list.
And even for those fortunate enough to receive a donor transplant, approximately 50% still die within ten years of the transplant. BIOLIFE4D’s proposed process specifically addresses these challenges.
Additional Opportunities for the Proposed BIOLIFE4D Process
In the U.S., pharmaceutical companies spend more than $50 billion each year on new drug discovery. But in 2016, only 22 new drugs were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This gap and other challenges could be addressed by leveraging the proposed BIOLIFE4D process which could:
- Stimulate pharmaceutical discovery and decrease related costs
- Boost pharmaceutical tool capabilities
- Improve drug efficacy and toxicity testing
- Streamline drug compound evaluation
- Provide an alternative to pharmaceutical and cosmetic testing on animals
Cardiac Disease Statistics
- Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the USA for both men and women.
- 1 in 3 deaths of women each year in the USA are from heart disease
- 1 in 4 deaths of men each year in the USA are from heart disease
- Heart diseases claim more lives each year than all forms of cancer combined.
- Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in virtually all developed countries throughout the world. It is the cause of 1 out of every 3 deaths globally.
- In just in the USA someone has a heart attack every 34 seconds
- Every 30 seconds, someone dies in the USA of a heart disease related event that could have potentially been treated with tissue regeneration or replacement.
- In just the USA it is estimated that the direct and indirect cost of heart disease through health expenditures and lost productivity more than $320 Billion annually
- On a global level, it is projected that we will spend over 1 trillion dollars per year dealing with cardiovascular disease by 2030.
- People with risk factors for heart disease, a few of which include including diabetes, physical inactivity and being overweight, are increasing exponentially every year.
- Every year, about 800,000 in the USA alone have their 1st heart attack; an additional 500,000 people in the USA alone have a 2nd heart attack.
- The number of people diagnosed with heart failure is projected to increase by 46% by 2030
- While in 2015 approximately 125,000 people in the USA were waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, there were only approx. 13,000 total donors.
- Only about 3,500 heart transplants took place in the US last year, and only 5,000 heart transplants took place globally last year.
- Over 98% of the people on the heart transplant waiting list did NOT receive a heart transplant last year.
- The gap between the number of people waiting for life saving organ transplants and the number of actual transplant procedures which take place increases dramatically each year.
- Among the people fortunate enough to receive a lifesaving heart transplant, unfortunately it is really more of trading one disease for another. While the donor heart can save your life, nearly half of all recipients die within 10 years of transplantation due to complications relating to using a donor’s organ including outright rejection or challenges from the immunosuppressant therapy required to prevent rejection.
This is why the primary focus at BIOLIFE4D is to counter the devastating effects of heart disease globally, impacting all of humanity, from the youngest of children to the oldest of adults. It is our goal to offer a viable, sustainable solution where there currently is none.