Organovo and Collaborators Publish Data in Toxicological Sciences Demonstrating Power of 3D Bioprinted Human Liver Tissues in...
September 13 2016 - 7:05AM
Organovo Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ONVO) (“Organovo”), a
three-dimensional biology company focused on delivering scientific
and medical breakthroughs using its 3D bioprinting technology,
today announced a publication in the scientific journal,
Toxicological Sciences, which demonstrates the power of Organovo’s
ExViveTM Human Liver Tissue to effectively model drug-induced liver
injury leading to fibrosis.
Using Organovo’s 3D bioprinted human liver tissues, researchers
from Organovo, The Institute for Drug Safety Sciences and the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were able to
reconstruct key aspects of methotrexate and thioacetamide-induced
progressive human liver injury in a way that other models,
including in vitro cellular models and animal models, have not been
able to achieve. Repeated, low-concentration exposure to
these compounds enabled the detection and differentiation of
multiple modes of liver injury, including hepatocellular damage and
progressive fibrogenesis. ExVive Human Liver Tissue was used
to track the transient and surging production of immunomodulatory
and chemotactic cytokines in a concentration and
treatment-dependent manner. In addition, the model showed
treatment-dependent upregulation of fibrosis-associated
genes, ACTA2 and COL1A1, which mimics the hallmark
features of a classic wound-healing response. The
publication’s lead authors were Leah M. Norona, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Deborah G. Nguyen, Ph.D., Senior
Director of Research & Development at Organovo.
“This data set clearly shows that our ExVive Human Liver Tissue
can recapitulate key features of drug, chemical and TGF-β1-induced
fibrogenesis at the cellular, molecular, and histological levels
and can be used to better understand the onset and progression of
human liver injury,” said Dr. Sharon Presnell, chief scientific
officer, Organovo. “The presence of multiple cell types and
the tissue-like architecture make the product uniquely capable of
modeling complex disease states and providing a comprehensive and
cell-type specific view of the mechanism of toxicity to improve
risk assessment of drugs and develop alternative solutions.”
“This demonstration of methotrexate-induced fibrosis in our
liver model has become a strong driver of customer adoption,” said
Paul Gallant, general manager, Organovo. “Having data that so
clearly shows a capability that has been elusive in the past is
very compelling, and we’re continuing to build a solid base of
customers given the growing validation of ExVive Human Liver
Tissue’s ability to demonstrate correlation with known clinical
results.”
Modeling drug-induced liver injury has been challenging because
existing preclinical animal models may fail to translate results
into humans due to species variations in metabolism, injury
response, and ability to repair and regenerate tissue. 2D
cell culture models are also used to study liver disease states,
but they do not reliably mimic liver structure, function and
multicellular architecture. The Company’s 3D bioprinting
technology creates tissues that are spatially patterned,
three-dimensional, and multicellular. Organovo’s 3D
bioprinted human liver tissues are composed of patient-derived
parenchymal (hepatocyte) and non-parenchymal (endothelial and
hepatic stellate) cell populations and can provide insights into
the dynamic and complex intercellular interactions that occur
during drug-induced liver injury. Many drugs, such as
methotrexate, offer therapeutic benefits that often outweigh
toxicity risks. In these cases, the clinical paradigm is
focused on measuring and managing toxicity rather than a
requirement that the drug be free from any evidence of
toxicity. The ExVive platform stands out as an exceptional
tool to model and understand tissue-level toxicity, owing to its
durable nature and the presence of multiple tissue-specific cell
types that are essential in modulating tissue injury, resistance to
injury and recovery.
The publication entitled, “Modeling compound-induced
fibrogenesis in vitro using three-dimensional bioprinted human
liver tissues,” was published online on September 8 and can be
found here:
http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/09/02/toxsci.kfw169.full.pdf.
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 ExVive Human Liver
and Kidney Tissues are used in toxicology and other preclinical
drug testing. 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 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on
August 4, 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 Kunszabo
Organovo Holdings, Inc.
+1 (858) 224-1092
skunszabo@organovo.com
Press Contact:
Jessica Yingling
Little Dog Communications
+1 (858) 344-8091
jessica@litldog.com
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