Johnson & Johnson collaborates with AMBER Research group in a new bio-printing venture. The two illustrious companies are looking to set-up this lab within Trinity College Dublin. They began preparations within the first quarter of this year and hope to open it by the end of 2018. Professor Michael Morris, AMBER director has called the lab “a global center of excellence for Bio 3D printing“.

The lab will occupy a 100 square meter space within the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI). It will also include areas for the handling of sensitive materials such as live matter and cell cultures.

Professor Mark Ferguson, director general of Science Foundation Ireland and chief scientific adviser to the government, comments, “I very much welcome this promising collaboration between AMBER and Johnson & Johnson Services. [It] builds on Ireland’s international reputation for research excellence and presents us with an important opportunity to promote the sharing of knowledge and expertise between industry and academia – in material sciences and beyond.”

Johnson & Johnson has had a long-standing association with biotechnology research. The company has also had various joint ventures with AMBER before. One such example is DePuy Synthes orthopaedic franchise, who are working with custom implant 3D Printing. AMBER will aid in these orthopaedic research efforts and offer in-house assistance with their own experts.

Johnson & Johnson has been procuring various deals with various companies for a while now. Most notable of them are HP and Carbon. Another notable deal is with Aspect Biosystems, who are helping develop 3D printed knee replacement tissue.

The deal with AMBER has a massive bonus in that it can unite all the expertise provided by all these companies under one roof or at least in one network. AMBER Research centre has already put Ireland on the map in terms of technological expertise. The eventual development of this lab seems to be a step further in that same direction.