New investment to advance personalized transplant medicine using AI-enhanced cell-based testing

Plexision, a biotechnology company, today announced a $365,000 investment from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. The funds will be used to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities across Plexision’s suite of cell-based blood tests, significantly improving predictive accuracy for complex transplant outcomes.

Despite advances in transplant medicine, managing immunosuppressive drugs remains a delicate balance. Too little medication can lead to rejection, which can be cell- or antibody-mediated, while too much can increase the risk of infections with different viruses, and in some cases, lymphoma related to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Legacy testing tools on the market offer limited visibility into a patient’s immune status, and provide reactive, binary results. To distinguish between the various types of rejection and infection, clinicians often integrate other clinical data to make treatment decisions.

Plexision’s blood tests predict the most common rejection subtypes and post-transplant infections, all using a common platform of immune cell function. When integrated with machine learning, this test panel ranks risks of multiple outcomes across an outcome category in each patient, including the likelihoods of stable graft function, and T-cell-mediated and antibody-mediated rejection. This approach also identifies the presence or absence of an infection, including infection-related lymphoma. These capabilities have been developed and validated in multi-center studies to be reported at the World Transplant Congress in San Francisco, CA between August 2-6, 2025.

“Plexision is redefining transplant diagnostics by predicting rejection subtypes and infection risks using blood tests derived from a single immune cell function platform,” said Dr. Rakesh Sindhi, a transplant surgeon, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Plexision.

The expanded use of AI will enhance the platform’s ability to rank and predict the likelihood of multiple outcomes in each patient, making it a powerful clinical decision support tool for caregivers delivering precision transplant medicine. The company’s proprietary technology delivers results in as little as 6 to 24 hours, enabling timely intervention.

“This funding enables us to take the next step in making transplant care truly personalized. By expanding our artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, we are transforming how clinicians will interpret immunologic signals, moving from singular binary ‘yes/no’ answers to ranked predictions tailored to each patient,” added Sindhi.

All tests are performed at Plexision’s CLIA-approved and CAP-accredited reference laboratory in Pittsburgh, PA, using blood samples shipped in from clinical partners. Results are used with other clinical data to optimize management of individual transplant patients.

Plexision’s innovations have demonstrated strong clinical performance. For example, the company’s PlexABMR™ test recently predicted antibody-mediated rejection in kidney transplant recipients with 81% positive predictive value and 75% negative predictive value in a multi-center trial. Another test predicted EBV infection, a cause of life-threatening infection-related lymphoma in transplant patients. These findings will also be featured at the 2025 World Transplant Congress.

To learn more about Plexision, visit https://plexision.com/ or email info@plexision.com to schedule a meeting with the company at the World Transplant Congress.

About Plexision

Plexision’s reference laboratory performs cell-based blood tests for personalized management of transplant rejection, infections in immunocompromised patients, and immune therapy in oncology. Transplant rejection testing services include the FDA-approved Pleximmune™ blood test to predict transplant rejection in children with liver or intestine transplants, the lab-developed Pleximark™ test to predict kidney transplant rejection, and the recently developed PlexABMR™ to predict antibody-mediated rejection. Tests that predict infection includes the lab-developed PlexCMV™, currently the most sensitive test to capture protective cell-mediated immunity in high-CMV-risk transplants. The PlexEBV™ test predicts EBV infection, which can cause post-transplant lymphoma. These tests measure cell-mediated immunity to cytomegalovirus and EBV, respectively. Plexision also performs custom R & D projects that require integration of cellular biomarker targets in all phases of development of drugs, vaccines, and gene therapy products, from pre-clinical to post-marketing. The company’s portfolio of cell-based blood tests can be adapted to assess disease risk for several immunological disorders and develop personalized dosing recommendations. The company’s reference laboratory in Pittsburgh, PA, is CLIA-approved, CAP-accredited and GMP-compliant. To learn more, visit www.plexision.com or email info@plexision.com.

About Richard King Mellon Foundation

Founded in 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation is the largest foundation in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and one of the 50 largest in the world. The Foundation’s 2023 year-end net assets were $2.9 billion, and its Trustees in 2023 disbursed more than $176 million in grants and program-related investments. The Foundation focuses its funding on six primary program areas, delineated in its 2021-2030 Strategic Plan.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250724697940/en/