Full Press Release Details
Organovo Announces First Delivery of 3D Liver Tissue to Key Opinion Leader
SAN DIEGO, January 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/
Organovo Holdings, Inc. (NYSE MKT: ONVO) ( Organovo ), a three-dimensional biology company focused on delivering breakthrough 3D bioprinting technology, today announced that it has performed its first 3D Liver tissue delivery.
The achievement marks the delivery of Organovo s 3D Liver tissue to a laboratory outside of the company to a key opinion leader (KOL) for
experimentation, and marks the achievement of a milestone along the pathway to commercial launch of its 3D liver tissue product. Organovo achieved the milestone ahead of its April 2014 target date. Key opinion leaders are generally experts, in this
case top research scientists, in a particular field whose opinions and publications will influence practice. Organovo expects KOLs to make recommendations on improvements to the tissue before launch and to influence peers through their reporting of
their research results at conferences and through peer reviewed publications.
This is an important milestone for Organovo R&D, said
Organovo Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development Dr. Sharon Presnell. In developing these tissues, we have gone through a careful set of research studies involving many individual tissues, and
greatly increased our ability to produce them. By the end of January, we expect to have bioprinted nearly four hundred 3D Liver tissues during the month.
Organovo also introduced updated guidance on the timing of its product launch. Organovo had planned to launch its 3D Liver tissue product by the end of
December 2014. It now expects to commence the commercial launch and start generating revenue through a services model prior to December 2014. As pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies move to continue to outsource their R&D
efforts, explained Keith Murphy, Organovo s chief executive officer, our ability to deliver a service offering in addition to products will be critical to meet their needs and to enter the $7B preclinical research services
market. The company anticipates that preclinical toxicology testing services can command prices in the high tens of thousands of dollars per compound for standard screening for liver alone.
Organovo s 3D Liver tissues exhibit several key features that remain stable over time:
Organovo plans to release additional data in 2014 on its 3D Kidney tissues and breast cancer tissues now in development. In December, Organovo demonstrated
that its NovoGen bioprinted breast cancer tissues retain compartmentalized structures with interaction between stromal and cancer cells, along with formation of endothelial networks and differentiation of adipocytes. NovoGen 3D bioprinted constructs
were demonstrated to be less susceptible to tamoxifen-induced toxicity than isolated 2D cancer cells when treated with the same dose of tamoxifen for the same duration, highlighting the potential utility of this model in identifying superior drugs
with greater toxicity against complex, multicellular 3D tumor models.
Organovo also reminded investors of the continued availability of Organovo s
December 5, 2013 online presentation. Organovo s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Keith Murphy, presented in a live interactive online forum that was a recorded event. The online content that can be accessed consists of a 30 min
presentation as well as the text of a Q&A session that followed.
LINK: www.retailinvestorconferences.com > click on red register /
watch event now button
The Company also reminded investors of its guidance to investors regarding Short and Distort articles.
About Organovo Holdings, Inc.
Organovo designs and
creates functional, three-dimensional human tissues for medical research and therapeutic applications. The Company is collaborating with pharmaceutical and academic partners to develop human biological disease models in three dimensions. These 3D
human tissues have the potential to accelerate the drug discovery process, enabling treatments to be developed faster and at lower cost. In addition to numerous scientific publications, the Company s technology has been featured in The Wall
Street Journal, Time Magazine, The Economist. Organovo is changing the shape of medical research and practice. Learn more at www.organovo.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Any statements contained in this
press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current
expectations, but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the
Company s ability to develop, market and sell products based on its technology; the expected benefits and efficacy of the Company s products and technology; the timing of commercial launch and the market acceptance and potential for the
products, and the risks related to the Company s business, research, product development, regulatory approval, marketing and distribution plans and strategies. These and other factors are
identified and described in more detail in our filings with the SEC, including the prospectus supplement that we filed with the SEC on November 27, 2013 and the transition report on Form 10-KT for the period ended March 31, 2013 that we
filed with the SEC on May 24, 2013 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary
statements should be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not intend to update any of the
forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
SOURCE Organovo Holdings, Inc.
Investor Contact, Barry
Michaels, Chief Financial Officer, 858-224-1000, ext. 3, IR@organovo.com, or Gerry Amato, Booke & Company Investor Relations, admin@bookeandco.com; Media Contact, Mike Renard, EVP, Commercial Operations, 858-224-1006, mrenard@organovo.com