Organovo Cautions Investors in Regards to "Short and Distort" Articles

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Organovo Holdings, Inc. (NYSE MKT: ONVO), a biotechnology company focused on delivering breakthrough three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technology, today issued a caution to investors regarding content on certain internet sites targeting existing and potential investors in its common stock.

Organovo and many other innovative technology companies have been the subject of various articles on certain investor websites that contain significant factual errors. The content on these sites can be submitted by independent authors and do not represent a cohesive view or the opinion of the site overall. In fact, these sites do little or no fact checking, provide little to no editorial oversight, and provide limited or no mechanisms for correction of factual errors. The company would like to help investors judge content on such sites appropriately, and point out the risks of encountering false information. 

The Company would like to stress that in providing information in regards to such sites to investors, it is not claiming that all articles with a negative connotation are false. The Company respects the right of all investors and commentators to voice opinions openly. However, on some occasions information that is not factual is presented, or factual information is presented in such a way as to create a misconception. While some errors may be unintentional or simply sloppy, on some occasions it is possible that some authors may be following a "Short and Distort" strategy, where they purposefully create a negative picture after taking a short position. To be sure, not every positive article regarding the Company should be trusted either, but rather investors should bring a critical eye to all articles published on such sites, which despite having significant distribution power and readership can be lacking in content quality. 

For several reasons, Organovo strongly encourages all investors to regularly review and focus on its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and its press releases for information regarding the Company, including the risk language in such filings, because the first line of defense against sophistry lies with the investor. When the Company has elected to request corrections through a site publishing false information, the process can take two days to two weeks, and no site that sends out an email alert when an article is published has ever agreed to send the corrections out via email alert, meaning that admitted factual errors that required correction may never be seen by the great majority of readers of the earlier incorrect article. A number of requested corrections have never been made, because the standard for some sites to adjudicate a dispute is only to ask the author if they are willing to make a change. Above all, the Company feels that it is in the best interests of shareholders for its management team to remain primarily focused on advancing the commercialization of its bioprinting technology, rather than debating with internet bloggers. For these reasons, Organovo seeks to provide resources to keep its investor base informed and engaged, so that individual investors are best prepared to judge content for themselves.   

The Company makes the following recommendations to investors who encounter what they believe may be a concerning article:

• Review the company's Investor FAQ, including, if appropriate, "Short and Distort" related content, at http://www.organovo.com/investors/frequently-asked-questions
• Review the company's SEC filings for information regarding a given topic, and leverage SEC resources to understand such filings at http://investor.gov/researching-managing-investments/researching-investments
• Review third party information regarding "Short and Distort" strategies, such as Investopedia's description of the technique: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/analyst/030102.asp
• When choosing to comment on any article web page, investors should stick to factual statements and not criticize the authors directly, since direct attacks will be deleted
• For any unanswered questions raised by a given article, inquire directly with the Company through our investor relations email address at [email protected]

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, the Company's technology has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, The Economist, and numerous others. Organovo is changing the shape of medical research and practice. Learn more at www.organovo.com.

Safe Harbor Statement 
Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may 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 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 based on its technology; the expected benefits and efficacy of the Company's products and technology; and the Company's business, research, product development, regulatory approval, marketing and distribution plans and strategies. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in our filings with the SEC, including our report on Form 10-Q filed August 9, 2013, the prospectus supplement filed with the SEC on August 2, 2013 and the transition report on Form 10-KT filed with the SEC on May 24, 2013 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do 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.

SOURCE Organovo Holdings, Inc.