Academic research behind CurifyLabs

Our concept is based on over 10 years of extensive research in the field of personalized medicines.

Niklas Sandler Topelius, our Founder and CSO, spent many years in the pharma industry discovering ways to enable better treatments for patients with induvial needs that can not be met with current available treatments. It has long been evident that customised treatments are needed and Niklas was confident that better options could be achieved somehow.

Niklas run into 3D printing and started investigating options using regular ink yet printers. He bought one in a regular supermarket near Åbo Akademi University, where he served as professor in pharmaceutical technology. He emptied the cartridges with ink and replaced it with pharmaceutical ingredients. The results where accurate and extremely promising.

Since then, Niklas has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and about 60 of them within the field of 3D printing medicines and he has been key note speaker on industry events all over the world. He has also been noted on the Medicine Maker Power List 2020.

It’s clear that 3D printing medicines is not only about having a 3D printer in place. The pharma industry is, and should be, heavily controlled and regulated to ensure patient safety. Niklas has invented a compliant full service concept called “Medicine-as-a-Service” which enables unique, personalized treatments close to the patient.

Image: Niklas and a 3D printer back in 2012

Video: Niklas presenting at Slush 2015

CurifyLabs is constantly collaborating with academic partners on many markets.

Would you like to read articles by Niklas Sandler Topelius and his team?

Here’s a few to start with:

1. Sjöholm, Erica; Mathiyalagan, Rathna; Rajan Prakash, Dhayakumar; Lindfors, Lisa; Wang, Qingbo; Wang, Xiaoju; Ojala, Samuli; Sandler, Niklas; ,3D-Printed Veterinary Dosage Forms—A Comparative Study of Three Semi-Solid Extrusion 3D Printers,Pharmaceutics,12,12,1239,2020
2. Rautamo, Maria; Kvarnström, Kirsi; Sivén, Mia; Airaksinen, Marja; Lahdenne, Pekka; Sandler, Niklas; ,Benefits and prerequisites associated with the adoption of oral 3d-printed medicines for pediatric patients: A focus group study among healthcare professionals,Pharmaceutics,12,3,229,2020,
3. Sjöholm, Erica; Sandler, Niklas; Additive manufacturing of personalized orodispersible warfarin films,International journal of pharmaceutics,564,,117-123,2019,Elsevier
4. Öblom, Heidi; Sjöholm, Erica; Rautamo, Maria; Sandler, Niklas; ,Towards printed pediatric medicines in hospital pharmacies: Comparison of 2d and 3d-printed orodispersible warfarin films with conventional oral powders in unit dose sachets,Pharmaceutics,11,7,334,2019,
5. Öblom, Heidi; Zhang, Jiaxiang; Pimparade, Manjeet; Speer, Isabell; Preis, Maren; Repka, Michael; Sandler, Niklas; ,3D-printed isoniazid tablets for the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis—Personalized dosing and drug release,Aaps Pharmscitech,20,2,1-13,2019,Springer International Publishing
6. Holländer, Jenny; Hakala, Risto; Suominen, Jaakko; Moritz, Niko; Yliruusi, Jouko; Sandler, Niklas; ,3D printed UV light cured polydimethylsiloxane devices for drug delivery,International journal of pharmaceutics,544,2,433-442,2018,Elsevier
7. Holländer, Jenny; Hakala, Risto; Suominen, Jaakko; Moritz, Niko; Yliruusi, Jouko; Sandler, Niklas. 3D printed UV light cured polydimethylsiloxane devices for drug delivery, Int. J Pharm.,544,2,433-442,2018
8. Edinger, Magnus; Bar-Shalom, Daniel; Sandler, Niklas; Rantanen, Jukka; Genina, Natalja; ,QR encoded smart oral dosage forms by inkjet printing. Int. J. Pharm. pharmaceutics,536,1,138-145,2018
9. H Wickström, A Broos, JO Nyman, E Kortesmäki, P Eklund, T de Beer, N. Sandler. Handheld colorimeter as quality control tool for inkjet printed flexible levothyroxine doses for pediatric use. International Journal of Pharmaceutics 536 (2), 508-509, 2018
10. M Edinger, D Bar-Shalom, N Sandler, J Rantanen, N Genina, QR encoded smart oral dosage forms by inkjet printing International journal of pharmaceutics 536 (1), 138-145, 2018
11. J Holländer, R Hakala, J Suominen, N Moritz, J Yliruusi, N Sandler. 3D printed UV light cured polydimethylsiloxane devices for drug delivery. International journal of pharmaceutics (in press) 2017
12. Vakili, Hossein; Wickström, Henrika; Desai, Diti; Preis, Maren; Sandler, Niklas; Application of a handheld NIR spectrometer in prediction of drug content in inkjet printedorodispersible formulations containing prednisolone and levothyroxine. International journal of pharmaceutics,524,1,414-423,2017
13. Palo, Mirja; Holländer, Jenny; Suominen, Jaakko; Yliruusi, Jouko; Sandler, Niklas; ,3D printed drug delivery devices: perspectives and technical challenges, Expert Review of Medical Devices,14,9,685-696,2017
14. N. Sandler & M. Preis. Printed Drug-Delivery Systems for Improved Patient Treatment. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences 2016: 37(12)1070–1080,
15. Vakili, H, Nyman JO, Genina, N., Preis, M., Sandler, N. Application of a colorimetric technique in quality control for printed pediatric orodispersible drug delivery systems containing propranolol hydrochloride. Int J Pharm. 2016 18;511(1):606-618.
16. Wickström, H., Nyman JO, Indola, M., Sundelin, P. Kornberg., L. ., Preis, M., Rantanen., J., Sandler, N. Colorimetry as quality control tool for individual inkjet-printed pediatric formulations, AAPS PharmSciTech, 2016 18 (2), 293-302
17. M. Palo, K. Kogermann, N. Genina, D. Fors, J. Peltonen, J. Heinämäki, N. Sandler, Quantification of caffeine and loperamide in printed formulations by infrared spectroscopy, Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, 2016, 34, 60-70
18. Genina N, Holländer J, Jukarainen H, Mäkilä E, Salonen J, Sandler N. Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) as a new drug carrier for 3D printed medical drug delivery devices Eur J Pharm Sci. 2015 doi: 10.1016/j.ejps
19. Wickström, H., Palo, M., Rijckaert, K. Kolakovic, R., Nyman, J.O., Määttänen, A., Ihalainen, P., Peltonen,J., Genina, N., de Beer, T., Löbmann, K., Rades, T. Sandler. N. Improvement of dissolution rate of indomethacin by inkjet printing. Eur. J. Pharm. Sci 2015, 75: 91-100
20. Preis M, Breitkreutz J, Sandler N. Perspective: Concepts of printing technologies for oral film formulations. Int J. Pharm 2015 494(2), 30, 578-584
21. Water JJ, Bohr A, Boetker J, Aho J, Sandler N, Nielsen HM, Rantanen J. Three-dimensional printing of drug-eluting implants: preparation of an antimicrobial polylactide feedstock material. J Pharm Sci. 2015 104(3):1099-107
22. Palo M, Kolakovic R, Laaksonen T, Määttänen A, Genina N, Salonen J, Peltonen J, Sandler. Fabrication of drug-loaded edible carrier substrates from nanosuspensions by flexographic printing N. Int J Pharm. 2015 2015; 94(2) 603-610
23. Vakili H, Kolakovic R, Genina N, Marmion M, Salo H, Ihalainen P, Peltonen J, Sandler N. Hyperspectral imaging in quality control of inkjet printed personalised dosage forms. Int J Pharm. 2015 Apr 10;483(1-2):244-9
24. Kolakovic, R., Viitala, T., Ihalainen, P. Genina, N., Peltonen, J., Sandler, N. Printing technologies in fabrication of drug delivery systems. Expert opinion in Drug-Delivery 2013 Expert Opin. Drug Deliv. (2013) 10(12):1711-1723
25. Raijada, R., Genina, G., Fors, D., Wisaeus, E., Peltonen, J., Rantanen, J., Sandler, N. A Step towards Development of Printable Dosage Forms for Poorly Soluble Drugs. J.Pharm.Sci. 2013 102(10):3694-704
26. Genina, H. Fors, D., Palo, M., Peltonen, J., N. Sandler. Behavior of printable formulations of loperamide and caffeine on different substrates—Effect of print density in inkjet printing. Int. J. Pharm. 2013 453(2):488-97
27. N. Genina, E. M. Janssen, A. Breitenbach, J. Breitkreutz, N. Sandler. Characterization of the inkjet-printed rasagiline mesylate on different substrates. Eur. J. Biopharm. 2013 85(3 Pt B):1075-1083
28. Genina, N., Fors, D., Vakili, H., Ihalainen, P., Pohjala, L., Ehlers, H., Kassamakov, I., Haeggstrom, E., Vuorela, P., Peltonen, J., Sandler, N. Tailoring controlled-release oral dosage forms by combining inkjet and flexographic printing techniques, Eur. J of Pharm. Sci. 2012, 3,(9 )615–623
29. Sandler N., Määttänen A, Ihalainen P, Kronberg L, Meierjohann A, Viitala T, Peltonen J. Inkjet printing of drug substances and use of porous substrates - Towards individualized dosing. J Pharm Sci , 2011;100(8):3386-3395

Happy readings!

Team CurifyLabs