SAN DIEGO [April 5, 2022] – Trestle Biotherapeutics announced today that is has been selected as a “Cool Company” by Connect San Diego, an organization that helps promote San Diego’s top startups for funding.  Launched in 2015, Cool Companies is an annual capital program to match San Diego’s top-performing technology and life sciences companies with quality investors.  Since the program’s inception, the selected Cool Companies have raised more than $730M in Series A financing.

Trestle, co-founded by Ben Shepherd, Ph.D. and Alice Chen, Ph.D., is a pre-clinical stage company developing functional kidney tissue to supplement and replace lost renal function in kidney failure patients. Through the integration of stem cell biology and 3D biofabrication, the company is leveraging principles of developmental biology to build novel therapeutic tissues for patients suffering from organ failure.

“We are really humbled to be included in this group of amazing companies and leaders.  We know Connect receives hundreds of applicants and we’re honored to be recognized. San Diego has an incredible ecosystem of teams building amazing technologies and solving important problems.  The region has developed into one of the few places where the integration of teams providing capital with the best science entrepreneurs has produced tremendous benefit for patients who need new options,” said Trestle CEO, Ben Shepherd.

Connect San Diego’s Cool Company program selects top-tier, local entrepreneurs raising institutional funding and grants them direct access with capital providers.  The program regularly attracts over 200 VCs to the area to engage directly with selected companies.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for us as we look to secure additional financing to accelerate our early R&D efforts and expand the valuable relationships we’ve been building with academic collaborators and strategic partners,” said, Alice Chen, Trestle’s CSO. “Mike Krenn and the folks at Connect/San Diego Venture Group have established a first-rate organization that elevates entrepreneurs and drives the innovation economy in the San Diego area, and Trestle could not be prouder to stand with this community.

About Trestle Biotherapeutics

Trestle Biotherapeutics, Inc. is a pre-clinical stage company developing bioengineered therapies for patients living with end stage renal disease. Once implanted, these bioengineered stem cell-derived tissues will get patients off dialysis, delay their need for transplantation, and one day become replacement organs. Learn more at trestlebio.com.

Company Contact:

Ben Shepherd, Ph.D.
pr@trestlebio.com