Organovo and Methuselah Foundation Announce Funding of Bioprinting Research at Research Institutions

SAN DIEGO, July 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Organovo Holdings, Inc. (NYSE MKT: ONVO), a biotechnology company focused on delivering breakthrough three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technology, and Methuselah Foundation, a public charity incentivizing innovation in regenerative medicine, today announced that Methuselah Foundation has initiated a campaign in which it will fund research at major research institutions using Organovo's proprietary NovoGen Bioprinting technology. 

The program will feature grants of research funding from the non-profit Methuselah Foundation to major academic research centers engaged in cutting edge biomedical research.  Eligible institutions will include public and private research universities and private non-profit research institutes.  Under the program, Methuselah Foundation will divide a donation of at least $500,000 in direct funding for research projects across several institutions. 

Methuselah Foundation Chief Executive Officer David Gobel commented, "Our donors expect us to drive beneficially disruptive medical technology forward. Their funding support is doing exactly that by placing Organovo's breakthrough 3D bioprinting technology in the hands of the brightest scientists that tissue engineering centers of excellence have to offer."

"Organovo's technology has broad potential application in the life sciences," said Keith Murphy, chief executive officer of Organovo.  "The opportunity to allow those working towards significant breakthroughs in organ bioprinting to use the NovoGen MMX bioprinter is exciting, and we're happy to be able to establish this joint effort with Methuselah Foundation to enable greater access to Organovo's powerful platform."

The funding will go to cover budgeted bioprinter costs or other aspects of project execution.  Organovo will participate in selection of the best opportunities to fund among institutions that request such funding.  The initial funding is currently available and will begin as soon as candidate institutions are selected.  An expected outcome from the program is a greater set of preliminary results to justify the granting of additional government research grants in the 3D bioprinting space.  Organovo and Methuselah are confident that the program can become a springboard for much broader productive use of bioprinting in a number of areas of biological research.

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. In addition to numerous scientific publications, our technology has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, The Economist, and numerous others. Organovo listed on the New York Stock Exchange MKT on July 11, 2013.  The company is dedicated to changing the shape of medical research and practice. Learn more at www.organovo.com.

About Methuselah Foundation 

The Methuselah Foundation is a non-profit medical charity working to create a world where 90 year olds can have the health profile of 50 year olds, by 2028. By opportunistically leveraging resources, enabling partnerships, and awarding prizes and grants, we accelerate disruptive developments in biomedical engineering that will eradicate needless suffering and extend healthy human life. For more information please visit: www.methuselahfoundation.org.

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SOURCE Organovo Holdings, Inc.