MatTek’s Lab-Grown Human Tissues Head to Space.
A project led by PCA SKIN, a Colgate-Palmolive brand, will see MatTek, a part of the BICO Group, send their product EpiDermFT skin tissues to the International Space Station.
MatTek Life Sciences, a BICO company, announced today that their tissues will be used as part of an experiment sponsored by the ISS National Lab and led by PCA SKIN, aboard the International Space Station to explore the effects of microgravity on human skin. Historical data has shown that during their time in a microgravity environment, astronauts experience thinning, dry skin, comparable to the normal effects of aging on Earth.
“We want to take the opportunity to explore the unique conditions of microgravity and how that impacts skin health and develop products that can better meet our consumer's skin health needs,” said Joanna Wu, PhD, one of Colgate-Palmolive’s principal investigators on the project. “MatTek Life Sciences is a partner of choice because their full thickness 3D tissue, EpiDermFT, is a robust lab-grown skin model that can very well mimic real human skin.”
MatTek’s EpiDermFT tissues are living, lab-grown human skin samples that react to external conditions and stimuli in the same way as skin on the human body. The skin samples will be exposed to microgravity conditions for several days aboard the ISS, then frozen until their return to Earth. Investigators will then conduct analysis and compare findings to parallel experiments performed on the ground to evaluate the effects of microgravity on human skin biology.
“The lab-grown skin samples going to space are identical in structure and genetics to the skin samples kept on the ground, which allows scientists the ability to observe any potential changes to the tissues exposed to microgravity,” said Alex Armento, president and CEO of MatTek. “We’re always thrilled to be a part of projects like this one and to see how our technology, combined with innovative thinking from partners like Colgate-Palmolive, positively impacts human health.”
The experiment will travel to the ISS aboard Northrop Grumman’s 17th commercial resupply services mission, contracted by NASA, in its Cygnus spacecraft no earlier than February 19, 2022, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Learn more about the project and access a link to watch the launch live: https://bit.ly/34Kk1G9
For further information, please contact:
Avijit Minocha, Head of Marketing, BICO
Phone (US): +1 (617) 637 5372
Email: akm@bico.com
This information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, on February 17, 2022 at 14:00 (CET).
About MatTek Life Sciences
Founded in 1985, MatTek Life Sciences began producing three-dimensional human tissue models as reliable replacements for animal testing. MatTek’s physiologically advanced tissue models empower companies in the cosmetics, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries to achieve their goals of non-animal testing while lowering preclinical costs and providing human-relevant results. With locations in the US and Europe, today MatTek's offerings include skin, eye, oral, respiratory, vaginal, and intestinal tissue models including disease modeling, validated, and custom testing services, multiple donor primary cells, culture media, and highly optical cultureware.
About BICO
Founded in 2016, BICO (formerly CELLINK) is the leading bio convergence company in the world. By combining different technologies, such as robotics, artificial intelligence, computer science, and 3D bioprinting with biology, we enable our customers to improve people's health and lives for the better.
The company has a focus on developing technologies that will advance Health 4.0 Next Generation Core Industry Ecosystems that enable tissue engineering, diagnostics, multiomics, and cell line development. BICO’s technologies enable researchers in the life sciences to culture cells in 3D, perform high-throughput drug screening and print human tissues and organs for the medical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. We create the future of health.
The Group’s instruments in the field amounts to 25,000, including all the top 20 pharmaceutical companies, are being used in more than 65 countries, and have been cited in more than 9,500 publications. BICO is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm under BICO. www.bico.com