Two Israel-based companies — 3D printing company Stratasys and regenerative and aesthetic medicine company CollPlant — recently signed a deal to develop plant-based technologies for tissue regeneration and organ manufacturing.

The initial joint venture is to bio-fabricate safe breast implants using Stratasys’ P3 bioprinter and CollPlant’s bioinks derived from collagen.

The implants would regenerate an individual’s natural breast tissue without eliciting an immune response as foreign materials often do.

If the development is successful, it will be a revolutionary alternative for both aesthetic and reconstructive procedures.

At the moment, breast reconstruction and augmentation procedures represent the second most common plastic surgery procedure in the world. Commonly used synthetic silicone implants carry a high risk of complications.

Stratasys CEO Yoav Zeif said the partnership with CollPlant “will enable us to accelerate the industrialization of bioprinting for regenerative medicine, and we look forward to the successful commercialization of CollPlant’s novel regenerative breast implants and beyond.”

CollPlant CEO Yehiel Tal said the company is “excited to collaborate on this transformative initiative.”

“We believe that our rhCollagen-based regenerative implant has the potential to overcome the challenges of existing breast procedures that use silicone implants or autologous fat tissue transfer,” added Tal.

In January, CollPlant successfully completed a large-animal study for its 3D bioprinted regenerative breast implants pilot. The company plans to launch a follow-up animal study in the second half of this year.