3D4 Pedia: a “printed” medication tailored to patients’ needs
Recipient of the program Companies and Campusprogram, the 3D4 Pedia project is developing a technology for producing medicines via 3D printing. The result of a collaboration between theCharles Gerhardt Institute in Montpellier (UM, CNRS, ENSCM), the Nîmes University Hospital , and the company MB Therapeutics, this innovative process enables customized dosages, primarily intended for children.
In the world of pharmaceutical research, this is a giant leap forward. “It had been nearly 50 years since there had been a breakthrough innovation in drug production,” says Ian Soulairol, highlighting the significance of the achievement. A researcher atthe ICGM ( Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier), co-founder of MB Therapeutics, and head of the drug production unit at the Nîmes University Hospital, the pharmacist is among the pioneers in the development of drugs via 3D printing. Thanks to the 3D4 Pedia project, the first treatment of its kind could hit the market as early as the beginning of 2027, intended for young patients with heart conditions.
An innovative ink
Shuttling between Montpellier and the Nîmes University Hospital, Ian Soulairol has been working on this new tool since 2017. “The techniques I’m developing are nothing like anything that’s been tried before. My goal is for them to be usable as close as possible to the patients to create a medication tailored to each individual case,” explains Ian Soulairol. Composed of a paste capable of containing the excipients and active ingredients of the developed treatment, this innovative ink offers infinite dosage possibilities. A godsend in the field of pediatrics, which requires greater precision due to the fragility of the target population. “When treating a child, we must constantly adapt to variations in weight and age, and the medications available on the market are quite limited. Furthermore, there has never been a sustained-release treatment suitable for children, but thanks to its modularity, 3D printing makes this possible,” explains the researcher.
To accelerate the project’s development and be able to produce the ink on an industrial scale, Ian Soulairol and Stéphane Roulon decided to found MB Therapeutics in 2023. Through this company, the team will produce the ready-to-use paste and the machines. “The idea is then to be able to print the molecule locally, in community pharmacies and university hospitals,” he explains.
A great collaboration
Thanks to the “Companies and Campus” program—a call for proposals led by the Montpellier University Innovation Cluster (PUI)—which it won in late 2023, the 3D4 Pedia project received a grant of 25,000 euros to expand its staff. In 2026, following validation of the printing process, the team will conduct tests on the product’s stability before moving to industrial-scale production. As a result, the first cartridges are expected to hit the market as early as the beginning of 2027, and in the near future, some fifty molecules could be repurposed and dosed more precisely thanks to this technology…
Supported by the Montpellier metropolitan area, which welcomed MB Therapeutics to its Millénaire campus, the 3D4 Pedia project benefited from a fruitful collaboration between the University of Montpellier and the Nîmes University Hospital, where Ian Soulairol serves as head of the drug production unit.
A series of fruitful partnerships, under the umbrella of the PUI, which the researcher wholeheartedly applauds: “Without them, I would have had a hard time fulfilling my commitments.”