FabRx creates personalized drugs with additive manufacturing

3D printing technologies provide great benefits for the medical sector, in particular for personalized medicine. We have already seen this with bioprinting tissue, made from patients’ own stem cells. This innovative use of additive manufacturing has enabled several bioprinting projects to emerge with promising results. The possibility for the medical sector to provide customized solutions to patients by 3D printing drugs is also being investigated by some actors in the sector. FabRx, based in the UK, is one of those companies. It is dedicated to the development of pharmaceutical solutions that allow specific groups of patients to receive on demand medication. To learn more about this innovative technology, we interviewed one of the FabRx experts.

3DN: Can you present yourself and present FabRx?

My name is Patricija Januskaite and I am the Senior Formulation Scientist within FabRx. Established in 2014, FabRx is a pharmaceutical biotechnology spin out from University College London (UCL), specialising in the 3D printing of oral dosage forms.

Patricija Januskaite

3DN: What 3D printing technologies do you work with?

FabRx’s new pharmaceutical 3D printer, M3DIMAKER™, focuses on multiple extrusion-based techniques for the manufacture of personalised medicines. We provide a choice of different printing nozzles through our sleek hardware system, adaptable to the pharmacist’s specific requirements. In addition to this, the printer is equipped with advanced in-line quality control procedures as well as a fitted camera to monitor the manufacturing process and identify any faults during printing.