Organovo and Its      Customers Present Data Supporting 3D Bioprinted Liver Tissues for Drug      Toxicity Testing and Liver Fibrosis Modeling
  SAN DIEGO, March 10,      2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Organovo Holdings, Inc. (NYSE MKT:ONVO)      ("Organovo"), a three-dimensional biology company focused on delivering      scientific and medical breakthroughs using its 3D bioprinting technology,      today announced five presentations at the Society of Toxicology's ("SOT")      55th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo, March 13--17, 2016, in New Orleans. These      presentations demonstrate the broad applicability of Organovo's      exVive3D(TM) Human Liver Model for the assessment of drug safety and the      detection of multiple clinically-relevant modes of liver injury, including      steatosis and fibrosis. In addition, Organovo's exhibitor-hosted session      on March 15, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time (CT), in Room 212 will include oral      presentations on recent advances using bioprinted 3D human liver tissues      to assess drug-induced liver toxicity.
  "Drug-induced liver injury      remains a major cause of late-stage clinical failures and market      withdrawal, often due to poor translation from preclinical animal studies      to clinical outcomes," said Dr. Sharon Presnell, chief technology officer      and executive vice president of research & development, Organovo.      "Organovo's exVive3D human liver model replicates complex cell-cell      interactions and key elements of native tissue architecture to enable the      detection of multiple clinically-relevant modes of tissue injury,      including necrosis, immune-mediated tissue damage, steatosis, and      fibrosis. When a preclinical or clinical-stage asset presents a      challenging safety or efficacy signal, exVive3D provides the unique      resolving power of a controlled human tissue microenvironment to      investigate mechanism and develop solutions."
  "Organovo's      exVive3D Human Liver Model provides an accurate, predictive and      reproducible model of human liver biology for preclinical toxicity      testing," said Paul Gallant, general manager, Organovo. "At the SOT Annual      Meeting, we and our pharmaceutical customers will be highlighting recent      results that show our 3D bioprinted human liver tissue effectively models      in vivo tissue composition and physiology."
  The presented data      supports the use of the exVive3D Human Liver Model in:
  --      Investigating in vitro mechanisms of drug-induced liver injury with      biochemical and histologic endpoints; -- Evaluating liver toxicity caused      by long-term compound treatment, as well as liver recovery following drug      removal; -- Capturing the spectrum of drug-induced changes at the tissue      level, including reduced liver function and vascular remodeling; --      Demonstrating drug-, chemical-, and TGF-b1-induced liver fibrosis at the      cellular, molecular and histologic level; -- Interrogating and identifying      over time the key cellular and molecular events underlying fibrogenesis;      -- Characterizing the short and long-term effects of acetaminophen; and --      Examining immune-mediated, drug-induced liver injury.
  The      presentations are as follows:
  Exhibitor-hosted Session: March 15,      9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. CT, Room 212
  Title: Advances in the Use of      Bioprinted 3D Human Liver Tissues for the Assessment of
  Drug      Induced Liver Toxicity
  Presenters: Sharon Collins Presnell, Ph.D.,      Organovo
  Umesh M. Hanumegowda, MVSc Ph.D. DABT, Bristol-Myers Squibb
  Poster      Presentations: March 15, 9:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. CT, CC Exhibit Hall
  Title:      Functional Evaluation of Bioprinted Human Liver Organoid as a Liver Injury      Model
  Presenter: Kazuhiro Tetsuka, Ph.D., Astellas Pharma Inc.
  Poster:      2001: Poster Board - P405
  Title: Modeling Drug Induced Hepatic      Fibrosis In Vitro Using Three-Dimensional Liver
  Tissue Constructs
  Presenter:      Leah M. Norona, Doctoral Candidate, The University of North Carolina at      Chapel Hill and The
  Hamner Institutes
  Poster: 1996: Poster      Board - P348
  Title: Utilization of exVive3D Human Liver Tissues for      the Evaluation of Valproic Acid
  Induced Liver Injury
  Presenter:      Candace Grundy, Organovo
  Poster: 2003: Poster Board - P407
  Title:      Inflammatory Response of Kupffer Cells in 3D Bioprinted Human Liver Tissues
  Presenter:      Rhiannon N. Hardwick, Ph.D., Organovo
  Poster: 1959: Poster Board -      P311
  Late-breaking Poster Presentation: March 17, 9:30 a.m. - 12:45      p.m. CT, Great Hall A
  Title: Monocrotaline Toxicity in 3D      Bioprinted Human Liver Tissue
  Presenter: Umesh M. Hanumegowda, MVSc      Ph.D. DABT, Bristol-Myers Squibb
  Poster: 3562: Poster Board - P254
  Exhibit      Booth: March 14-16, 9:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. CT, Booth 1701, CC Exhibit Hall
  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 disease models      through internal development and in collaboration with pharmaceutical and      academic 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 recently launched its initial      product of the planned exVive3D portfolio offering, the exVive3D Human      Liver Tissue for use in toxicology and other preclinical drug testing.      Additional products are in development, with the anticipated release of      the exVive3D Human Kidney Tissue scheduled for the third quarter of      calendar year 2016. 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,      and numerous other media outlets. Organovo is changing the shape of      medical research and practice. Learn more at www.organovo.com.
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