Bioengineered Therapies

for Kidney Disease

From the Founders

Our team has been building a new company that we’re proud to share with you – Trestle Biotherapeutics. The mission at Trestle is something that we’ve been thinking about for a long time, and we believe it will transform the lives of patients with kidney disease. If we get this right, the solutions we develop can be used to help millions of patients suffering from other types of organ failure.

The naming of Trestle carries many meanings for us. A trestle is a bridge which rests on the support of underlying and interconnected braces. That bridge allows continuation of a journey and enables the path to go on. We see the patients we aim to treat getting across. We also see it as a way to bridge scientific disciplines, to achieve what is only possible at their intersect. Lastly, we know there are smart people across the globe that we intend to bridge together, so they can contribute to what we’re building.

We’ve set out to do something ambitious and difficult. Developing a stem cell-based therapeutic solution for patients will take time, persistence, and the integration of some of the most exciting new technologies in stem cell biology, biofabrication, fluidics, and cell manufacturing. In some cases, we may need to develop new solutions that don’t currently exist.

We’ve begun to get this effort underway with tremendous intellectual and financial support from a great group of advisors and investors, and we are looking forward to sharing more of what we’re building in the coming months.

We’ll update soon,

-Ben Shepherd, PhD & Alice Chen, PhD

A New Solution For Kidney Failure

Kidney disease impacts 850 million people worldwide, 37 million in the United States. There are only two treatment options for people who progress to kidney failure – a rare kidney transplant or dialysis. While dialysis is a life-saving and essential treatment for more than 550,000 Americans, there have been no advances of treatment options for those with kidney failure since its advent nearly 60 years ago. And while dialysis sustains life, patients must endure constant medical risks of infection, vascular collapse, and personal tolls on quality of life.

Trestle is developing an implantable therapeutic tissue that will be delivered to patients suffering from end stage renal disease (ESRD). Our implantable bioengineered tissues will get patients off dialysis, delay their need for transplantation, and one day become replacement organs.