SAN DIEGO, July 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Organovo Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ONVO) (“Organovo”), a three-dimensional biology company focused on delivering scientific and medical breakthroughs using its 3D bioprinting technology, today announced that it is on track to commercialize its second tissue, the kidney proximal tubule, in the third calendar quarter of 2016. As part of its pre-commercialization activities, Organovo introduced an early access program for preferred partners and has signed the first customer orders to study the effects of drug exposure on the kidney proximal tubule. The Company has also actively engaged with additional biopharmaceutical companies, indicating strong interest in this program and its kidney tissue.

“The power and versatility of our technology platform allows us to create multiple tissues that address a number of different customer needs,” said Paul Gallant, general manager of commercial operations, Organovo. “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.”

Gallant continued, “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, 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.”

About Organovo Holdings, Inc.

Organovo designs and creates functional, three-dimensional human tissues for use in medical research and therapeutic applications. The Company develops 3D human tissue models through internal development and in collaboration with pharmaceutical, academic and other partners. Organovo's 3D human tissues have the potential to accelerate the drug discovery process, enabling treatments to be developed faster and at lower cost. The Company’s initial product is the exVive3D^TM Human Liver Tissue for use in toxicology and other preclinical drug testing. Additional products are in development, with the anticipated release of the exVive3D Human Kidney Tissue scheduled for the third quarter of calendar year 2016. The Company also actively conducts early research on specific tissues for therapeutic use in direct surgical applications. In addition to numerous scientific publications, the Company's technology has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, The Economist, Forbes, and numerous other media outlets. Organovo is changing the shape of life science research and transforming medical care. Learn more at www.organovo.com.        

Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts 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 the Company's 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 and services based on its technology; the expected benefits and efficacy of the Company's products, services and technology; the market acceptance of the Company's products and services; the Company's business, research, product development, regulatory approval, marketing and distribution plans and strategies; the Company's ability to successfully complete the contracts and recognize the revenue represented by the contracts included in its previously reported total contract bookings and secure additional contracted collaborative relationships. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in the Company's filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on June 9, 2016. 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 the Company may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, the Company does 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.

Investor Contact:
Steve KunszaboOrganovo Holdings, Inc.
+1 (858) 224-1092
skunszabo@organovo.com

Press Contact:
Jessica YinglingLittle Dog Communications
+1 (858) 480-2411
jessica@litldog.com