Frontier Bio: Tackling the organ shortage through vascular bioengineering

Frontier Bio’s vascular bioengineering research connects tissue modelling with graft development to advance regenerative medicine and drug discovery.

Every year, thousands of patients die while waiting for a donor organ that never arrives. Despite progress in surgical techniques and immunosuppressive therapies, the global shortage of transplantable organs remains one of modern medicine’s most intractable crises. Scientists have long imagined a future where damaged tissues could be replaced with laboratory-grown equivalents, but the reality has proved far more complex.

At the centre of this challenge lies the same biological truth that governs every living organism: tissues need blood. Without a functioning vascular system to deliver oxygen and nutrients, even the most sophisticated lab-grown constructs cannot survive once they reach a certain size. It is this fundamental limitation that has kept the dream of fully engineered organs out of reach.

A growing number of biotechnology companies are turning their attention to the body’s most vital infrastructure – its blood vessels. Among them is Frontier Bio, founded by Eric Bennett, which aims to make engineered tissues viable for transplantation. Bennett believes that overcoming the challenge of vascularisation is essential to solving the transplant crisis itself.

“We build engineered tissues, starting with blood vessels, to end the organ transplant waitlist.”

Why start with blood vessels

Bennett’s reasoning is straightforward. Every organ, no matter how complex, depends on a network of vessels that supply nutrients, carry away waste and provide structural integrity. Without that network, tissues grown in the laboratory remain limited to microscopic scale.

“The long-term vision is to create any and all tissues, no matter the complexity. But that’s not possible without first being able to create the most fundamental tissue of all: blood vessels.”

While many companies focus on recreating entire organs, Frontier Bio has chosen to begin where all organs begin – with vascular grafts. The approach may appear incremental, but it is grounded in both biological necessity and clinical opportunity.

Small-diameter vascular grafts are used in procedures such as coronary and peripheral bypass surgery. Synthetic options made from materials like ePTFE or Dacron often perform well in large vessels but fail in smaller ones, where thrombosis and poor tissue integration remain serious risks. Bennett saw an opportunity to apply biofabrication to create a better alternative.

A living graft

Frontier Bio’s vascular graft combines the precision of biomaterials engineering with the adaptability of the patient’s own cells.

“Our approach uses an off-the-shelf, bioresorbable scaffold that the surgeon seeds intraoperatively with the patient’s own cells using a point-of-care system, then implants it in the same procedure.”

This process eliminates the lengthy manufacturing timelines that have hindered previous personalised graft technologies. Instead, the scaffold is prepared during surgery and implanted immediately. Once in place, it provides a temporary structure that guides cell attachment, growth and organisation.

“In the body, the scaffold guides rapid endothelial coverage and tissue remodelling and gradually resorbs as native extracellular matrix (ECM) forms. By tuning compliance, porosity and surface cues, we aim to reduce thrombotic risk and approach the performance of autologous grafts without the added harvest time.”

As the bioresorbable scaffold degrades, it is replaced by the patient’s own extracellular matrix, producing a vessel that functions and remodels like native tissue.

From surgery to the laboratory bench

Although Frontier Bio’s long-term mission is clinical, the same vascular expertise underpins a growing business in preclinical research models. The company has developed organ-on-a-chip and mini-organ systems that replicate human physiology at small scale for drug discovery and toxicology testing.

“Our expertise in blood vessels enables us to create additional tissues supported by our vessels. For example, we’ve created lung and brain models with vascular components for preclinical testing applications.”

These platforms provide an ethical and scientifically relevant alternative to animal testing, allowing researchers to observe how human tissues respond to new compounds under controlled conditions. For Frontier Bio, they have become both a revenue stream and a vital testing ground for the company’s core technologies.

“This has allowed us to work with customers to generate revenue and priceless know-how for Frontier Bio, while generating useful, human-relevant data for the customer (as an alternative to testing in animals).”

Early in vivo results

Progressing a tissue-engineered product to human trials demands rigorous preclinical evidence. Frontier Bio has already completed a large animal study to assess the safety and performance of its grafts.

“We’ve completed our first large animal study in which our graft was implanted in the carotid artery of a porcine model. Early follow-up showed no adverse events occurred (no thrombosis, infection, rupture, or stenosis). We also observed luminal endothelialisation and cell infiltration throughout the scaffold.”

The next step is to demonstrate the same stability and function over longer timeframes – six months or more – before moving toward clinical evaluation.

Expanding to the brain and beyond

Having established a robust vascular platform, Frontier Bio is extending its capabilities into more complex tissue systems. One area of active collaboration involves the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a tightly regulated interface that protects the brain from toxins and pathogens but also blocks many potential drugs.

“Near term, we are expanding our blood-brain barrier model for neurotherapeutic development with partners, where better human in vitro systems are badly needed.”

Replicating the BBB accurately in vitro is a longstanding challenge for pharmaceutical researchers. Frontier Bio’s vascularised models could allow new therapies for neurological diseases to be screened with greater precision, saving time and cost in early-stage development.

Further ahead, Bennett envisions vascularised brain tissue grafts to repair localised damage following stroke or trauma. The company is also exploring programmes in lung, kidney, pancreas and liver, each building on the same vascular foundation.

Replacement over repair

The company’s progress has drawn the attention of investors focused on the science of longevity. Frontier Bio recently received backing from Immortal Dragons, whose philosophy of “replacement over repair” aligns with Bennett’s own vision of regenerative medicine.

“Even if you could rejuvenate every cell in the body, the ECM often remains cross-linked, stiffened and structurally damaged. These are issues gene therapies alone may not fully resolve.”

He argues that true regeneration requires addressing both the cellular and structural components of tissue. Biofabrication offers the possibility to do both simultaneously.

“Our focus on biofabricating vascularised, transplant-ready tissues is designed to address both the cells and the ECM, so we can ultimately replace failing tissues and organs rather than only trying to patch them.”

This approach represents a shift from stimulating the body’s natural repair processes to engineering fully functional replacements.

A pragmatic vision for regeneration

For Bennett, success will depend not only on scientific innovation but also on practical integration into the healthcare system. By focusing on modular, scalable technologies such as vascular grafts, Frontier Bio is creating a platform that can evolve incrementally toward more complex applications.

As tissue engineering moves closer to clinical use, companies such as Frontier Bio are taking a more practical approach to regenerative medicine. By focusing on the vascular systems that support every tissue, rather than attempting to fabricate whole organs, they are addressing one of the main barriers to clinical translation. Bennett’s approach combines scientific insight with engineering precision, recognising that progress in organ biofabrication begins with mastering its basic components.

About Immortal Dragons

Immortal Dragons (https://www.id.life/) is a purpose-driven longevity fund headquartered in Singapore. The fund invests in cutting-edge, high-impact technologies and currently supports more than 15 portfolio companies. Beyond conventional investments, the fund advances longevity advocacy through book translation and publishing, translation of longevity leaders’ talks, hosting a leading Chinese-language longevity podcast, and providing sponsorships and grants to longevity initiatives and conferences.

About Eric Bennett

Eric is a serial entrepreneur and biomedical engineer. Before founding Frontier Bio, he was CTO at Aether, where he developed advanced low-cost bioprinters. His scientific background spans brain–computer interfacing, optogenetics, microfluidics, DNA assembly and bioprinting. His earlier work included using optogenetics and brain–computer interfaces to study and mitigate neural disorders. Eric is motivated to create technologies that extend the boundaries of what is possible.

For Press Inquiries:
Boyang Wang
Founder, Immortal Dragons
press@id.life