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§ Private Profile · Berkeley, CA, USA
Prellis Biologics is a technology company.
Prellis Biologics has raised $83.1M across 7 funding rounds.
Key people at Prellis Biologics.
Prellis Biologics has raised $83.1M in total across 7 funding rounds.
Prellis Biologics develops advanced antibody therapeutics by integrating artificial intelligence with diverse immune system insights. Its proprietary EXIS™ platform leverages bioprinting technology to engineer and identify fully human antibodies, accelerating discovery across disease areas. This unique approach enhances precision in drug development.
Dr. Melanie Matheu founded Prellis Biologics in October 2016. Her initial vision sought to overcome bioprinting limitations, particularly in resolution and vascularized tissue creation. With a strong academic background, including a PhD and post-doctoral research, she designed a platform for sophisticated biological engineering, evolving into the company's current focus.
The company primarily partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms pursuing novel drug discovery. Prellis Biologics commits to accelerating the creation of life-changing antibody therapies. Its long-term vision centers on advancing human health by fusing human immune system understanding with advanced machine learning for next-generation medical solutions.
Key people at Prellis Biologics.
Prellis Biologics is a biotech company specializing in antibody discovery through its proprietary EXIS™ platform, which uses 3D bioprinted lymph node organoids (LNO™) to replicate human immune responses in vitro, enabling rapid identification of fully human antibodies for therapeutics.[1][2][3] It serves pharmaceutical and biotech partners by tackling hard-to-drug targets like GPCRs, reducing immunogenicity risks, and accelerating development from weeks to months, with applications in oncology, inflammation, metabolic diseases, and more.[2][5][6] The platform integrates human immune cell diversity from multiple donors, AI-guided screening, and laser bioprinting for higher hit rates and scalable, humane alternatives to animal testing, driving growth through partnerships like Bristol Myers Squibb and Sanofi, plus funding from investors including Celesta, Khosla Ventures, SOSV, and Avidity Partners.[2][5][6]
Prellis Biologics was founded in October 2016 by Melanie Matheu (CEO) and Noelle Huskey Mullin in San Francisco (now Berkeley), CA, stemming from Mathea's expertise in laser bioprinters developed amid a prior startup's collapse during the pandemic.[3][5] Matheu pivoted from organ printing ambitions by prototyping tissue engineering at home with her first employee, filing a key patent on January 16, 2017, after validating lymph node organoids against Zika virus.[5] Early traction came from building EXIS, an in vitro human immune system that generates target-specific antibodies faster and cheaper than animal models, leading to a $14.5M Series B in December 2021 and major pharma deals.[5] This evolution from broad tissue printing to focused antibody discovery humanized the company, blending Mathea's persistence with immunology and bioengineering talent.[4][5]
Prellis stands out in antibody discovery via these key strengths:
Prellis rides the bio-AI convergence trend, merging synthetic biology, 3D bioprinting, and machine learning to overhaul drug discovery amid rising demand for human-relevant models over animal testing.[2][4][5] Timing aligns with post-pandemic urgency for faster antibodies against viruses, cancers, and complex diseases, fueled by market forces like high clinical failure rates (due to immunogenicity) and AI's maturation for biology-scale data.[1][2][6] By enabling pharma giants to access diverse, low-risk antibodies, Prellis influences the ecosystem—reducing R&D timelines, boosting hit rates on tough targets, and generating datasets for broader AI-biotech platforms, while advancing toward organ printing ambitions.[5][8][9]
Prellis is poised to scale EXIS through deeper pharma integrations and Series C momentum (led by Celesta), expanding its pipeline in high-need areas like oncology and inflammation with AI-refined antibodies.[6][8] Trends like AI-driven bio-manufacturing and regulatory shifts toward humane alternatives will amplify its edge, potentially evolving it into a full-stack therapeutics engine or organoid leader. As bio-AI pioneers, expect Prellis to redefine antibody discovery speed and success, empowering partners to deliver safer medicines faster—echoing its origins in resilient tissue innovation.[2][5][8]
Prellis Biologics has raised $83.1M across 7 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $35.0M Series C in August 2022.
Prellis Biologics has raised $83.1M in total across 7 funding rounds.
Prellis Biologics's investors include Lei Meng, Michael Marks, American Express Ventures, Buckley Ventures, Celesta, Creative Ventures, Cultivation Capital, Electric Capital, FTW Ventures, Greylock, Helium-3 Ventures, iSelect Fund.
