- Strategic partnership between CUTISS and Tecan to industrialize the world’s first automated manufacturing platform for personalized skin tissue therapy.
- Tecan brings industrial automation expertise and global manufacturing capacity
- Partnership signals a key milestone in CUTISS’s transition from engineering development to commercial-scale production.
Switzerland – 14 April 2025 – CUTISS, a late-stage clinical biotech at the forefront of tissue therapeutics and regenerative medicine, today announced a strategic partnership with Tecan, a global leader in the development, production, and distribution of automation solutions for the life sciences and diagnostics sector. This collaboration marks a critical step in the industrialization of CUTISS’ pioneering automation platform for the manufacturing of personalized skin tissue therapies.
The partnership will enable the transition of CUTISS’ automated manufacturing solution from engineering development to industrial-grade production. It will also support CUTISS’ mission to bring its lead product denovoSkin™ – the personalized, bioengineered human skin graft – to market at scale and to expand the platform’s potential into new areas of regenerative medicine.
Dr. Daniela Marino, CEO of CUTISS, said: “This collaboration reaffirms our leading role in tissue therapeutics and our commitment to take denovoSkin™ to the global market. As a late-stage clinical biotech we strongly believe that denovoSkin™ has the potential to revolutionize skin surgery globally and across numerous indications. Tecan’s expertise and global infrastructure will strengthen our industrial capabilities, enabling the rapid scale-up of our automated tissue therapy platform. We are proud to work alongside such a strong industrial leader with Swiss roots and international presence.”
Dr. Achim von Leoprechting, CEO of Tecan, stated: “We are pleased to partner with CUTISS in industrializing the world’s first automated manufacturing platform for personalized skin tissue therapy, addressing unmet medical needs. This collaboration perfectly aligns with Tecan’s purpose of improving people’s lives and health by empowering customers to scale healthcare innovation globally, from life science to the clinic.”
Dr. Vincent Ronfard, Chief Innovation Officer of CUTISS, added: “The CUTISS automation platform is a first-of-its-kind in personalized tissue manufacturing. Together with Tecan we are paving the future of tissue engineering automation.”
denovoSkin™ in late-stage Phase 3 clinical trials
As a personalized, bioengineered human skin graft, denovoSkin™ is designed for patients undergoing skin surgery for severe skin injuries (such as burns) or reconstructive procedures. It aims to replace the current standard of care, autografting, and to significantly improve patient outcomes.
The Phase 3 confirmatory study in adolescent and adult severe burn patients is taking place in Switzerland and the European Union across 8 sites. denovoSkin™ is also accessible under compassionate use. It has been granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for the treatment of burns from Swissmedic, EMA, and the FDA.
denovoSkin™ is unique because it is bilayer, composed of both dermis and epidermis. In clinical trials and long-term follow-ups to date, it has been shown to grow with the patient and regenerate in a scarless manner, to mature quickly, safely restore skin function, and significantly reduce the need for scar care and follow-up corrective surgeries.
Beyond being life-saving and life-changing, denovoSkin™ is also cost-effective and offers attractive unit economics.
Scaling up with first-in-class automated production
CUTISS is working to scale-up the production of denovoSkin™ through automation. The company has already developed a first-in-class automation platform for the scalable production of personalized tissue therapy – a patented, fully-closed, end-to-end system that enables decentralized production, cost-effective scale-up, and high return on investment.
About CUTISS
CUTISS (www.cutiss.com) is a late-stage clinical biotech at the forefront of tissue engineering therapy and regenerative medicine. The lead product – denovoSkin™ – is a bio-engineered, personalized human skin graft that promises to transform skin surgery with significant benefits to patients around the world. Currently in Phase III clinical trials in Europe, denovoSkin™ has received Orphan Drug Designation from Swissmedic, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the US FDA for the treatment of burns.
CUTISS is also pioneering the development of the world’s first automated platform for large-scale skin tissue production, advancing breakthrough programs in skin pigmentation restoration and expanding the horizons of tissue engineering. To date, the project has benefited from public funding support including from Innosuisse, Switzerland’s innovation agency, and the European Union Horizon 2020.
The company was established in 2017 as a spin off from the Tissue Biology Research Unit at the University of Zurich, and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.
About Tecan
Tecan (www.tecan.com) improves people’s lives and health by empowering customers to scale healthcare innovation globally from life science to the clinic. Tecan is a pioneer and global leader in laboratory automation. As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Tecan is also a leader in developing and manufacturing OEM instruments, components and medical devices that are then distributed by partner companies. Founded in Switzerland in 1980, the company has 3,300 employees, with manufacturing, research and development sites in Europe, North America and Asia, and maintains a sales and service network in over 70 countries. In 2024, Tecan generated sales of CHF 934 million (USD 1,062 million; EUR 984 million). Registered shares of Tecan Group are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (TECN; ISIN CH0012100191).
Media contacts
CUTISS – European and international media
Cabinet Privé de Conseils (Switzerland)
Toomas Kull kull@cpc-pr.com | +41 767 480 174
