Sam Onukuri, Head of Johnson & Johnson's Center of Excellence.
When brothers Robert, James and Edward Wood Johnson founded Johnson & Johnson (J&J) with a goal of manufacturing the first mass-produced antiseptic surgical dressings and sutures, the term ‘3D printing’ was still some 50 years away from being invented. Fast forward to today, the company is now a leading force in the medical, pharmaceutical and consumer markets and a prominent voice in the adoption of cutting-edge technologies for healthcare.
3D printing is just one technology that J&J believes can help solve some of the challenges and opportunities the healthcare industry is facing today, particularly in the delivery of personalised care. That’s why the company created the J&J 3D Printing Centre of Excellence (CoE), a network of development centres and collaborative state-of-the-art laboratories with top research universities across Europe and North America, that focus on the deployment of 3D printing throughout J&J’s key verticals. Speaking with TCT, Sam Onukuri, Head of J&J’s CoE, explained how this approach allows the company to develop, test and commercialise products much faster.
“I often describe the Johnson & Johnson 3D Printing Center of Excellence as an innovation hub that leverages our breadth and scale to evolve the way Johnson & Johnson creates and delivers healthcare solutions with 3D printing,” Sam explained. “We are investing in world-class 3D printing capabilities so that we can innovate with patients, consumers and providers wherever they are.”
The CoE focuses on primary application areas including surgical tooling, metal and polymer custom implants and non-implants, personalised medicines, vision care and bioprinting but it is also looking towards more niche areas such as printed electronics and micro 3D printing. Pretty much any area you could imagine a use case for 3D printing, J&J is all over it and the benefits are abundant. Speed to market, on-demand access, manufacturing efficiency, innovative design possibilities and perhaps most importantly, customisation and personalisation, are proving invaluable in enhancing the overall patient experience.
“3D printing can really change the game when it comes to personalisation,” Sam continued, “It allows us to create customised tools and treatments, whether it’s a consumer product like the new Neutrogena MaskiD, or a custom-designed orthopaedic implant. Products and instruments can be made in a way that’s not possible with large-scale subtractive manufacturing. With 3D technology we are creating the capabilities to deliver new solutions faster and more efficiently anywhere in the world, even in remote areas.”
J&J is working with partners to develop a “toolbox” of bio-materials that can be used for a range of applications
One area where J&J is seeing the biggest patient value from 3D technologies is in clinical Point-of-care. By providing medical professionals access to technologies in-house or locally, they can utilise patient-specific anatomical models for surgical planning and patient education, personalised instruments and implants for surgery, and personalised braces and exoskeletons for post-operative care. This will overall improve the experience for both patients and surgeons.
“We are conducting point of care trials with hospitals in several countries to provide 3D printed anatomical models and cutting guides,” Sam explained. “This is an exciting area we’re leading from a commercial perspective, moving from a product orientation to a solutions orientation model that provides real-time and on-demand connectivity with both patient and healthcare provider.”
Personalised surgical instruments and products such as J&J’s TRUMATCH titanium 3D printed implants for use in facial reconstruction are already a reality but J&J is also leading early developments in more future-facing areas such as bioprinting. The process works by using “bio-inks” to print complex structures of living tissue for production, repair and regeneration of human biological structures. While functional 3D printed organs may still be a good few years away from implementation, J&J has established a collaborative laboratory with AMBER, the Science Foundation Ireland-funded institute at Trinity College Dublin, to develop a new class of 3D biological implants that may regenerate versus replace diseased joints. The goal is to work with partners to develop a “toolbox” of bio-materials that can be used for a range of applications and could offer better outcomes compared to current metal and polymer solutions.
“A few years ago there was incredible excitement about bioprinting with news from academic research on the potential for 3D printed organs. While it is certainly a fascinating area of research, it is still not a reality,” Sam commented. “For the near future, at Johnson & Johnson, we are looking at the wide range of applications where bioprinting can potentially bring value to the patient while working on more complex tissues and structures for future innovations.”
J&J has already leveraged a similar technology using a micro 3D printing process in the development of its Neutrogena MaskiD, a personalised hydrogel face mask created with cellulose sourced from locust beans and red seaweed and 3D printed with a combination of five skincare ingredients. The device was launched earlier this year and uses patient-data from a mobile 3D camera to generate a personalised skincare solution.
Neutrogena MaskiD personalised hydrogel face mask.
In addition to new tech, partnerships are also an important part of J&J’s roadmap. In the 3D printing space alone, the company has over 50 global strategic collaborations with technology companies, academic institutions, hospitals and government bodies that have been established to bring together expertise from leaders in the field and advance its product platforms. Like Silicon Valley 3D printing company, Carbon, which partnered with J&J on the development of surgical instruments for orthopaedics using its rapid Digital Light Synthesis technology, or HP which teamed up with J&J back in 2016 to collaborate on personalisation of instrumentation and software for patient-specific healthcare devices. It has also made a number of strategic acquisitions including Emerging Implant Technologies GmbH, a German manufacturer of 3D printed titanium interbody implants for spinal fusion surgery which was brought in to expand the capabilities of J&J’s orthopaedics business, DePuy Synthes.
“Our mission and philosophy is to work with some of the top minds around the world,” Sam added. “Working alongside an extensive network of partners allows us to remain on the cutting edge when it comes to incorporating 3D printing across our business.”
With tailored medical solutions and consumer products already out in the field, J&J says it is continuing to innovate in each of these areas with a strong pipeline of productions and applications across pharmaceuticals as well. Ultimately, Sam says, it’s about using 3D printing to connect more closely with patients and consumers along the whole episode of care and there are a number of emerging technologies and developments which he believes will make that all the more possible.
“We’re seeing more complex materials being integrated into the digital ecosystem the Internet of Things, sensor technology, mobile networks – that will make life easier for consumers and patients,” Sam concluded. “For medical devices, diversity in materials, including biocompatible and bioprinted materials, will be a catalyst for transformative change. And micro-printing small, high-precision features that might be used in minimally invasive devices is another advance in 3D printing that will change the landscape.”
