SAN DIEGO, Aug. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Organovo Holdings, Inc. (NYSE MKT: ONVO) ("Organovo"), a three-dimensional biology company focused on delivering breakthrough 3D bioprinting technology, announced today that Gregory T. Lucier has been appointed as a corporate advisor.  In the role, Mr. Lucier will advise Chief Executive Officer Keith Murphy and the executive management team on various corporate issues.

"As Organovo moves towards launch of a major new offering, our 3D Human Liver Tissue, we have been putting the pieces in place to execute on our opportunity and deliver results to shareholders," stated Organovo Chief Executive Officer Keith Murphy.  "We have been hiring for key roles, building the necessary internal processes, and driving our scientists to finalize the tissue production and testing protocols.  Bringing on someone who can assist the company in our launch stage and during our commercial growth is critical.  Given his tremendous track record of success at Life Technologies, no one is better for this role than Greg Lucier."

"I'm pleased to be asked to help the executive management of Organovo deliver on the promise of three dimensional bioprinting," said Greg Lucier.  "As I have learned more about Organovo's team and technology, it's clear there is a compelling opportunity to advance their early scientific performance into strong commercial wins.  I look forward to using my leadership experience, strategic thinking in the life sciences industry, and track record bringing biomedical commercial solutions to market, to help guide the company in its next phase."

Mr. Lucier was formerly Chairman and CEO of Life Technologies, a global life sciences company acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific for $15.6.billion in 2014. During Mr. Lucier's 11-year tenure at Life Technologies, he led the company from a small start-up known as Invitrogen in 2003, directed the acquisition and merger of Invitrogen with Applied Biosystems in 2008 into the renamed Life Technologies, and then transformed the organization by 2013 into a global, world-leading biotechnology firm with 50,000 products, 12,000 employees and nearly $4 billion in sales in more than 180 countries. Serving in his leadership role, Mr. Lucier was responsible for fostering a culture of excellence at Life Technologies, and applied his more than 25 years of strategic management experience to help champion an era of personalized medicine.

Prior to his tenure at Life Technologies, Mr. Lucier was a corporate officer of General Electric Company where he served in a variety of leadership roles. Mr. Lucier received a bachelor's degree in engineering with honors from Pennsylvania State University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He serves on the boards of NuVasive Corporation, RainTree Oncology Services, CareFusion, and is board chairman for Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute.

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. The company plans to market the first product of a planned portfolio offering, a 3D Human Liver Tissue for use in Toxicology and other preclinical drug testing prior to the end of 2014, and remains on track to bring this breakthrough technology to customers.  In addition to numerous scientific publications, the Company's technology has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, The Economist, and numerous others. 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 market acceptance of the Company's products; and 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 our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on June 10, 2014 as well as 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.