Organovo and UC San Diego Receive $1.7 Million Grant From National Institutes of Health to Study Liver Disease
Deteriorating liver function is a growing and serious public health concern, with an estimated 100 million adults in the U.S. afflicted with NAFLD, while up to 20 million more Americans are projected to have non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (“NASH”). Left unchecked, these diseases can progress to cirrhosis and cancer, with NASH being the second leading cause of liver transplants in the U.S. Despite decades of intense research worldwide, the understanding of NAFLD progression and the development of novel therapeutic approaches have been limited by the lack of advanced systems that mimic human liver biology over an extended period of time.
“Traditional preclinical models often fall short in their ability to inform clinical outcomes accurately, largely due to the limited functionality of simple in vitro models and species differences,” said Dr.
Organovo’s ExViveTM Human Liver Tissue provides a complex, multicellular, reproducible tissue model with robust architecture that retains metabolic competence and liver-specific function over long durations. Advanced 3D bioprinted models have the potential to significantly impact liver disease research by enabling the discovery of new drugs to treat patients, as well as studying the safety of novel therapeutics in real-world populations.
Dr. Presnell continued, “Given the increasing prevalence of fatty liver disease in the U.S. population, advanced 3D liver tissue models that are physiologically relevant and predictive of human liver biology will play a critical role in understanding disease progression and the development of effective treatments. We are thrilled to collaborate with Dr.
“We look forward to working with the
For more information about the NIH, visit www.nih.gov.
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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.
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Investor Contact: Steve KunszaboOrganovo Holdings, Inc. +1 (858) 224-1092 skunszabo@organovo.com Press Contact:Jessica Yingling Little Dog Communications +1 (858) 344-8091 jessica@litldog.com