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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 the publication of data in Frontiers in Physiology showing the companys 3D bioprinted proximal tubule tissue model exhibits key characteristics of renal physiology that allow for in vitro kidney toxicity testing.

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. Sharon Presnell, chief scientific officer, Organovo. Our newly published data demonstrate that Organovos 3D bioprinted human kidney tissue has great potential to assess the toxic effects of compounds and the development and progression of complex, multicellular processes such as fibrosis.

Key findings and attributes described in the publication include the following:

In addition to the kidney publication, the Company noted a recent article published in ILAR Journal. The publication explores new technologies that could reduce both dependency on animal models and occurrence of liver toxicity in clinical trials. The article, written by scientific executives and experts from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Merck & Co., Inc and LifeNet Health, provides a thorough review of human tissue models and how they can accelerate drug development across all discovery stages, including Organovos 3D bioprinted liver model.

The authors reference Organovos technology as a significant innovation in the study of drug-induced liver injury, as it addresses many of the shortcomings associated with traditional in vitro culture models and animal models. They also state that 3D bioprinted tissues exhibit a broad range of highly differentiated in vivo like features and functions.

The authors reference results from Organovos drug-induced liver injury studies that have shown very good reproducibility and concordance with observed outcomes in vivo at the functional and histological levels and that treatment of the bioprinted human liver model with known fibrotic agents mimicked closely that of patient liver samples with drug-induced fibrosis.

Both liver and kidney drug toxicities are significant challenges for pharmaceutical companies working to advance safe and effective therapeutics, said Mr. Keith Murphy, CEO, Organovo. Previous validation data of our 3D bioprinted human liver tissue, combined with the data published in the peer-reviewed journal, Frontiers of Physiology, on our 3D bioprinted kidney proximal tubule tissue, clearly show that Organovos technology can address the unmet needs of our pharma customers and partners by providing timely, cost-effective, and more accurate human tissue models for evaluating drug toxicity and drug-induced fibrotic disease.

Organovos publication titled 3D Proximal Tubule Tissues Recapitulate Key Aspects of Renal Physiology to Enable Nephrotoxicity Testing, was published online on February 15, 2017 and can be found on the journals website: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2017.00123/abstract

The review titled The Promise of New Technologies to Reduce, Refine, or Replace Animal Use while Reducing Risks of Drug Induced Liver Injury in Pharmaceutical Development, was published December 31, 2016 and can be found on the journals website: https://academic.oup.com/ilarjournal/article-abstract/57/2/186/2806701/The-Promise-of-New-Technologies-to-Reduce-Refine

Excerpt from:
Organovo (ONVO) Publishes Data Describing Physiology of 3D Bioprinted Human Kidney Tissues for Drug Toxicity ... - StreetInsider.com