New Organs on Command: The Regulatory Prospects of 3D Bioprinting Technology in the European Union

This article examines the evolving legal landscape of bioprinting in the European Union, focusing on the regulatory challenges posed by the hybrid nature of bioprinted products. These constructs – simultaneously biological and synthetic – defy conventional legal classifications and are conceptualise...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mirko Đuković
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Queensland University of Technology 2025-04-01
Series:Law, Technology and Humans
Subjects:
Online Access:https://lthj.qut.edu.au/article/view/3817
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849697169766875136
author Mirko Đuković
author_facet Mirko Đuković
author_sort Mirko Đuković
collection DOAJ
description This article examines the evolving legal landscape of bioprinting in the European Union, focusing on the regulatory challenges posed by the hybrid nature of bioprinted products. These constructs – simultaneously biological and synthetic – defy conventional legal classifications and are conceptualised here as biosthetics. The analysis explores how existing EU regulatory instruments – including the ATMP Regulation, MDR, GDPR and SoHO Regulation – apply to bioprinting technologies across research and development as well as clinical implementation. The article argues that current frameworks, while comprehensive, remain fragmented and insufficiently adaptive to address the ontological and operational complexities of biosthetics entities. Three regulatory scenarios are presented: continued reliance on mode-of-action classification, incremental amendments to existing laws and the development of a novel regulatory model tailored to bioprinting. Ultimately, the article advocates for a paradigm shift towards anticipatory, participatory and ethically grounded governance that can respond to the challenges and promises of biomedical technologies in the biosthetics age.
format Article
id doaj-art-8bd5bbb444dc4d48823687654a5bd9d5
institution DOAJ
issn 2652-4074
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Queensland University of Technology
record_format Article
series Law, Technology and Humans
spelling doaj-art-8bd5bbb444dc4d48823687654a5bd9d52025-08-20T03:19:16ZengQueensland University of TechnologyLaw, Technology and Humans2652-40742025-04-0171849510.5204/lthj.38174140New Organs on Command: The Regulatory Prospects of 3D Bioprinting Technology in the European UnionMirko Đuković0https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4311-2359Hertie SchoolThis article examines the evolving legal landscape of bioprinting in the European Union, focusing on the regulatory challenges posed by the hybrid nature of bioprinted products. These constructs – simultaneously biological and synthetic – defy conventional legal classifications and are conceptualised here as biosthetics. The analysis explores how existing EU regulatory instruments – including the ATMP Regulation, MDR, GDPR and SoHO Regulation – apply to bioprinting technologies across research and development as well as clinical implementation. The article argues that current frameworks, while comprehensive, remain fragmented and insufficiently adaptive to address the ontological and operational complexities of biosthetics entities. Three regulatory scenarios are presented: continued reliance on mode-of-action classification, incremental amendments to existing laws and the development of a novel regulatory model tailored to bioprinting. Ultimately, the article advocates for a paradigm shift towards anticipatory, participatory and ethically grounded governance that can respond to the challenges and promises of biomedical technologies in the biosthetics age.https://lthj.qut.edu.au/article/view/38173d bioprintingtechno regulationharmonizationeuadaptive regulation
spellingShingle Mirko Đuković
New Organs on Command: The Regulatory Prospects of 3D Bioprinting Technology in the European Union
Law, Technology and Humans
3d bioprinting
techno regulation
harmonization
eu
adaptive regulation
title New Organs on Command: The Regulatory Prospects of 3D Bioprinting Technology in the European Union
title_full New Organs on Command: The Regulatory Prospects of 3D Bioprinting Technology in the European Union
title_fullStr New Organs on Command: The Regulatory Prospects of 3D Bioprinting Technology in the European Union
title_full_unstemmed New Organs on Command: The Regulatory Prospects of 3D Bioprinting Technology in the European Union
title_short New Organs on Command: The Regulatory Prospects of 3D Bioprinting Technology in the European Union
title_sort new organs on command the regulatory prospects of 3d bioprinting technology in the european union
topic 3d bioprinting
techno regulation
harmonization
eu
adaptive regulation
url https://lthj.qut.edu.au/article/view/3817
work_keys_str_mv AT mirkođukovic neworgansoncommandtheregulatoryprospectsof3dbioprintingtechnologyintheeuropeanunion