Boston-based Desktop Metal Inc., a leader in mass production and turnkey additive manufacturing solutions, announced the launch of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Desktop Health. The new healthcare business line will leverage Desktop Metal’s comprehensive portfolio of 3D printing solutions for current and future applications spanning dentistry, orthodontics, dermatology, orthopedics, cardiology, plastic surgery, and printed regenerative tissues and grafts.
“Today the world manufactures more than $85 billion in medical and dental implants each year,” says Ric Fulop, CEO and co-founder of Desktop Metal. “We think a large percentage of these parts could be printed and made patient-specific before the end of the decade, making this market a key opportunity for Desktop Metal. We look forward to building a best-in-class team to work with our industry partners to bring patient-specific solutions to the market at-scale.”
To lead this new initiative, Desktop Metal has appointed healthcare executive Michael Mazen Jafar as president and CEO, Desktop Health. Jafar brings nearly 20 years of experience creating and scaling breakthrough healthcare products. Most recently he served as chief commercial officer of Evolus, a performance beauty company, where he oversaw the launch of its flagship product, Jeuveau. For 16 years, Jafar also led the ophthalmology and medical aesthetics division for Allergan, culminating as VP marketing, U.S. medical aesthetics, and working on several of the company’s marquee brands.
“I am excited to join Desktop Metal at such an important time in medical technology. I want to build on years of the company’s research and development to bring its core technology and advanced materials to many healthcare specialties,” says Jafar. “Desktop Health has a mission to change the way patients experience personalized healthcare, through innovation and science-based solutions.”
Backed by 20 years of research, more than 1,400 published papers, and 3D Bioplotter and DLP technology, coupled with high-speed metal binder jetting additive manufacturing solutions, Desktop Health plans to leverage proven technology to create patient-specific solutions in the medical field.
“It’s a true privilege to work with leading technology alongside physicians, surgeons, and dentists to advance personal care,” says Jafar. “Our technology is widely used for customized in-office digital dentistry, makes customized metal implants possible, and has enabled exploration of applications such as bone regeneration, cartilage regeneration, and soft tissue biofabrication. We look forward to building on our success and ingenuity as we research extensions of our core technology across cardiology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, dermatology and plastic surgery.”
Featured image: Enabled by 3D Bioplotter, the industry’s most widely published translational bioprinting platform and an extensive library of printable advanced materials to create breakthrough healthcare products, Desktop Health is advancing 3D printing technology to support a variety of applications in bone regeneration, cartilage regeneration, soft tissue fabrication, drug release, and organ 3D printing. (Photo: Business Wire)