San Francisco-based human tissue engineering startup Prellis Biologics received $1.8 million in seed investment to improve its work in the 3-D printing of human organs.
True Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology startups, led the investment. Other participants included Civilization Ventures and 415 Ventures, along with angel investors.
The 10-month-old company says it has invented a way to create human organs using 3-D printing. Initiatives to 3-D print organs are often hampered by an inability to create microvasculature, the small blood vessels that provide cells with oxygen and nutrients, according to the company.
The founders of Prellis Biologics, however, say they have discovered a way to build scaffolding that includes microvascular structures. They hope to bring their patent-pending technologies to the market in phases, first focusing on using lab-grown tissues to accelerate drug development and testing.
Eventually, they aim to distribute 3-D printed organs to patients to eliminate the wait for organ transplants.
"We believe our technology will jumpstart the practical use of lab-printed tissue for life-saving drug development, rapid development of human antibodies and production of human organs for transplant," said Melanie Matheu, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Prellis Biologics.