On July 20, 2016, Organovo Holdings, Inc. (NYSEMKT: ONVO) (“Organovo”), a biotech company that employs three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to produce tissue (bio-printing), announced that it is on track to commercialize its second tissue, the kidney proximal tubule, by the end of the third quarter 2016. The company has begun a number of pre-commercialization activities, one of which is an early access program for preferred partners, and has received the first customer orders under that program. A number of other biopharmaceutical companies have expressed interest in the early access program.
“The power and versatility of our technology platform allows us to create multiple tissues that address a number of different customer needs,” Paul Gallant, general manager of commercial operations at Organovo, stated in the news release. “Kidney is a natural expansion of our preclinical product and service portfolio, providing a better solution than traditional in vitro models for drug research. Our initial customers are using the kidney model to study key aspects of kidney pharmacology, including compound transport, metabolism and toxicity.”
The bio-printing of tissue offers great promise to the medical world. Bio-printing involves the production of human tissue and human organs for testing or for replacement. If successful, the technology will speed up clinical testing and may make preclinical trials redundant. There is strong demand for replacement tissue. Every day, about 20 people die due to the unavailability of organs.
“With a robust sales footprint in place, and our ability to leverage the strong relationships we’ve built with core customers in the liver toxicology business”, Gallant continued, “we’re confident that we’ve positioned ourselves for early success with the kidney tissue. We look forward to bringing this groundbreaking product to market in the coming months.”
Organovo produces functional human tissue for use in medical research and therapeutic applications by a three-dimensional (3D) printing process. The human tissue models employed in the printing process are developed internally and in collaboration with pharmaceutical, academic and other partners. The company’s initial product was the exVive3D™ Human Liver Tissue that is used in toxicology and other preclinical drug testing. A second is the exVive3D Human Kidney Tissue scheduled for release in the third quarter of calendar year 2016. These products give researchers the opportunity to test drugs on functional human tissues before ever administering the drug to a living person, bridging the gap between preclinical testing and clinical trials. The company is also conducting early research on specific tissues for therapeutic use in direct surgical applications.
The company’s technology has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, The Economist, Forbes, and many other well-respected publications, as well as appearing in a number of scientific journals. Organovo is changing the shape of life science research and transforming medical care.
Learn more at www.organovo.com
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