Prellis Biologics Secures $8.7M Series A Funding to Advance 3D-Printed Human Tissues and Organs

On August 2, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned via Business Wire that biotechnology company Prellis Biologics (“Prellis”) announced the completion of an $8.7 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from True Ventures and Indie Bio.

Prellis will use the funds from this round of financing to develop 3D bioprinting technology for human tissues and organs, and to conduct animal tumor transplantation experiments.

It is reported that Prellis has completed five rounds of financing, including a $1.8 million seed round in September 2017.

Prellis Biologics, Inc., founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco, USA, is a biotechnology company. The company is dedicated to applying 3D printing technology to human tissue and organ transplantation, providing patients with more treatment options. Prellis’s 3D bioprinting technology for tissues and organs can be utilized in various fields, including oncology, neurobiology, tissue development research, and drug testing. Currently, more than 30 medical research centers are leveraging this technology to establish 3D human tissue models, including the University of California, San Francisco; Johns Hopkins University; the University of California, Irvine; and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Prellis’s research is primarily based on Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering. Regenerative medicine refers to the application of biological and engineering principles to create tissues and organs with impaired function, and to study the body’s physiological repair mechanisms. Tissue engineering combines cell biology and materials science to construct tissues and organs either in vitro or in vivo.

Prellis’s technology can be used to establish tumor models by fabricating representative human tumor tissues and transplanting them into immunodeficient animals, thereby providing pharmaceutical companies and healthcare institutions with tumor research models. Human tumor tissue culture enabled by 3D bioprinting technology is more efficient than traditional tumor transplantation methods and requires fewer cells. Conventional animal tumor transplantation methods typically require 2 million or more cells, whereas Prellis needs only 200,000 cells to culture complete tumor tissues.

3D Bioprinting of Tumor Tissues Holds Significant Implications for Oncology and Research on the Human Tumor Immune System. Furthermore, This Technology Can Substantially Reduce the Workload of Animal Testing in Medical Research, Thereby Accelerating the Drug Development Process.

Dr. Melanie Matheu, Co-founder and CEO of Prellis, stated, “Prellis’s work is grounded in tissue engineering, constructing complex tissues by 3D-printing vascular systems. Regenerative medicine holds broad prospects, and we aim to develop new therapies for patients based on the regeneration of human cellular tissues. Funding support from Khosla Ventures will help us integrate regenerative medicine with cutting-edge technologies to address complex cell biology challenges.”

Dr. Alex Morgan, a leader at Khosla Ventures, stated, “Regenerative medicine has made tremendous progress in recent decades. However, to create complete organs, we need to build higher-order structures such as vascular systems. Prellis’s technology serves as the foundation for all these medical advancements, and 3D bioprinting of human tissues and organs will revolutionize the field of organ transplantation.”

Khosla Ventures, established in 2004 and headquartered in California, United States, is a venture capital and private equity firm. The company has a broad investment portfolio spanning education, advertising, semiconductors, healthcare, big data, sustainable energy, and artificial intelligence. Khosla Ventures manages over $5 billion in assets.

True Ventures, established in 2005 and headquartered in California, USA, is a venture capital and private equity firm. The company primarily invests in technology startups and manages over $2 billion in assets. Since its inception, True Ventures has invested in more than 250 technology companies.

Indie Bio, founded in 2014 and headquartered in California, USA, is a global venture capital and financial services firm. The company primarily focuses on biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and medical devices, managing approximately $250 million in assets.

(Compiled by Xu Xiaoxue)