L2M Launch- Vrit; A handheld bioprinting platform for treating severe skin wounds.

This project supports the commercialization of INSITE (In Situ Tissue Engineering Bioprinting System), a handheld bioprinting platform developed in the Guenther Lab at the University of Toronto. INSITE enables point-of-care delivery of personalized bioinks directly into skin wounds, offering a novel, autograft-free alternative for treating full-thickness burns and chronic wounds. Current gold-standard treatments rely on split-thickness skin grafts, which are painful, resource-intensive, and often unavailable in large injuries. INSITE addresses this unmet clinical need by printing regenerative biomaterials directly into the wound bed, conforming to complex surfaces and eliminating the need for donor site surgery.

The Guenther Lab aims to launch INSITE through a clinical-stage Canadian biotechnology venture, initially targeting smaller burns (0–20% TBSA), which account for over 90% of burn cases yet have no strong alternatives to grafting. Building on the momentum from the Lab2Market Validate program—during which the team conducted 65 stakeholder interviews including over 30 burn surgeons—this Launch project will focus on execution: finalizing reimbursement and regulatory strategies, validating product-market fit, securing strategic partnerships, and preparing for both non-dilutive (e.g., Army) and venture capital funding.

This internship will produce key commercialization deliverables: a reimbursement white paper, a regulatory roadmap, a refined business model, signed partnership agreements, and investor-ready fundraising materials. It will accelerate INSITE’s path toward clinical deployment and position Canada as a global leader in regenerative medicine and wound care innovation.

Faculty Supervisor:

Axel Guenther

Student:

Partner:

DMZ Ventures Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Biotechnology; Biomanufacturing

University:

University of Toronto

Program: