Weightlessness of space allows tissues to be bioprinted without collapsing
Auxilium Biotechnologies announced a major milestone in space biomanufacturing with the successful bioprinting of kidney and liver tissues aboard the International Space Station (ISS), marking the first time either tissue type has been manufactured in space. Auxilium’s bioprinted biological tissues and nerve repair implants returned to earth on Mission AXLM-3 that flew on a SpaceX capsule and returned to Earth on June 17th, 2026.
“Successfully bioprinting living liver & kidney tissue aboard the International Space Station marks an important step forward for regenerative medicine.” — Dr. Anthony Atala, MD, Professor & Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative MedicineShare
During the mission, Auxilium’s AMP-1 orbital bioprinter successfully manufactured kidney, liver, and cartilage tissues while also producing 28 nerve repair implants. The achievement represents the first demonstration of kidney tissue manufacturing in space, the first demonstration of liver tissue manufacturing in space, and the first mission to manufacture three distinct tissue types during a single spaceflight. The production of multiple tissue types and clinically relevant nerve repair implants represents the first demonstration of a scalable, multi-product biomanufacturing platform in space.
Equally important, the mission demonstrated the ability of a single autonomous manufacturing platform to produce both living tissues and implantable medical products during the same flight. The simultaneous production of multiple tissue types alongside 28 nerve repair implants highlights not only the versatility of the platform, but also its scalability and higher-throughput manufacturing in space.
The kidney and liver tissues were manufactured in support of research conducted by the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) using the institute’s cells and tissue designs. Auxilium provided the orbital manufacturing platform that enabled tissue fabrication in microgravity.
“This mission represents a significant milestone for both Auxilium and the future of space biomanufacturing,” said Jacob Koffler, PhD, MBA, CEO of Auxilium. “For the first time, we successfully bioprinted kidney and liver tissues in space, demonstrating that complex biological products can be manufactured in orbit. We also produced cartilage tissue and 28 nerve repair implants during the same mission using the same manufacturing platform. The ability to manufacture multiple tissue types alongside clinically relevant medical products highlights both the versatility and scalability of our technology. These results build on our previous demonstration of large-scale medical device manufacturing in space and represent another step toward establishing practical production capabilities for biomedical products beyond Earth.”
Dr. Anthony Atala, MD, Professor and Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) commented, “Successfully bioprinting living liver and kidney tissue aboard the International Space Station marks an important step forward for regenerative medicine. The uniform cell distribution achieved aboard the space station points to real possibilities for manufacturing medical devices and tissues in space.”
Enabling the Next Generation of Biomedical Research
The successful bioprinting of kidney, liver, and cartilage tissues represents an important step toward enabling advanced biomedical research in space. One particularly promising application is the production of organoids, three-dimensional miniature tissue models that replicate key structural and functional characteristics of human organs. Organoids are increasingly used by researchers and pharmaceutical companies to study disease mechanisms, evaluate drug safety, screen new therapeutics, and predict responses to treatment.
Interest in organoid technologies has accelerated significantly as regulators and researchers seek more human-relevant alternatives to traditional animal testing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has identified organoids and other advanced tissue models as important components of its New Approach Methodologies initiative, while the National Institutes of Health has expanded efforts to advance and validate next-generation non-animal research platforms.
Today, organoids used for space-based research are manufactured on Earth and transported to orbit. The ability to manufacture these biological models directly in space could provide researchers with on-demand access to experimental systems while reducing dependence on launch schedules and Earth-based supply chains. As commercial space stations begin supporting larger research programmes, in-space production of organoids will create new opportunities for drug discovery, disease modelling, precision medicine, and human health research in microgravity.
By demonstrating the ability to manufacture multiple tissue types in orbit, Auxilium is helping establish the foundation for future space-based biomedical laboratories capable of producing advanced biological research tools whenever and wherever they are needed.
Source: Businesswire
