T&R Biofab: 3D Culturing of Hair Follicle Spheroids

Yet another company from South Korea is focusing on curing hair loss. T&R Biofab recently announced that it had registered for a domestic patent in regards to its hair follicle spheroid (via 3D culturing) hair loss treatment. They develop these hair spheroids via the use of proprietary 3D bioprinting technology.

The company was founded in 2013, and its name stands for “Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine and Biofabrication”. See the embedded video at the bottom of this post for more.

This new patent-pending technology entails the production of asymmetric hair follicle spheroids. The subsequent hair is able to grow in a specific direction using multiple bio-inks containing outer root sheath cells, dermal papilla cells, and inner hair sheath cells. Per a company spokesperson, they plan to further develop and commercialize related technologies that target the rapidly growing hair loss treatment market.

Note that in 2021, T&R Biofab collaborated with Epibiotech (South Korea) to co-develop a pluripotent stem cell therapy for hair loss. At the time, the company’s CEO Yun Won-soo said that:

“Epibiotech’s dermal papilla cell differentiation technology and our pluripotent stem cell line will create a combination with high synergetic effect.”

T&R Biofab is highly experienced in the field of 3D bioprinting and regenerative medicine. In fact, earlier in 2024, the company was involved in the world’s first 3D-printed windpipe transplant. And in 2023, the company’s bioprinting technology was used to 3D print a skull section and implant it into an injured Ukrainian soldier’s head. On a related note, also check out my 2021 post in the world’s first ever scalp and skull transplant.