Organovo Enters into Clinical Bio-material Sourcing Agreement with IIAM

[penci_blockquote style=”style-2″ align=”none” author=”” font_weight=”bold” font_style=”italic”]The multi-year agreement with IIAM will further advance Organovo’s 3D bioprinted therapeutic liver tissue development program[/penci_blockquote]

Organovo Holdings, Inc. a biotechnology company pioneering the development of 3D bioprinted tissues aimed to treat a range of serious adult and pediatric liver diseases announced that it has entered into a cell and tissue clinical sourcing agreement with the International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine (IIAM).  IIAM is one of the world’s largest providers of non-transplantable, human organs and tissues authorised for medical research, education and development.

As per the terms of the agreement, IIAM will provide Organovo with donated organs that have not been utilized for transplantation with high potential benefit for generating the cell-based building blocks for Organovo’s therapeutic liver tissue development program.

For years, Organovo has been pioneering the development of 3D bioprinted tissues aimed to treat a range of serious adult and pediatric liver diseases. The agreement further adds to Organovo’s groundwork to start human clinical trials in 2020 as it develops its NovoTissues – Organovo’s preclinical 3D bioprinted therapeutic tissue – to address liver disease in adult and pediatric populations.

This partnership with IIAM, along with Organovo’s own expertise in isolating, characterising and utilising specialised human liver cells will enable Organovo to create implantable 3D bioprinted liver tissue patches destined for patient treatment. Providing details about Organovo’s future plans on its groundbreaking work, Taylor J. Crouch, CEO at Organovo said, “Our clinical program expects to serve patient populations that are in desperate need of new treatment options. As we head into calendar 2019, we’re on track to pursue orphan designation for a second rare disease indication and to commence Investigational New Drug (“IND”) enabling studies for treating end stage liver diseases including Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, ultimately culminating in a targeted IND filing for calendar 2020.”

[penci_related_posts taxonomies=”undefined” title=”You Might Also be Interested in” background=”” border=”Black” thumbright=”yes” number=”4″ style=”grid” align=”none” displayby=”tag” orderby=”random”]

Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency is a genetic disorder that raises risks of lung and liver disease. Speaking about how the partnership with Organovo can help further efforts of donors at IIAM to save or improve the lives of others, Gina Dunne, Executive Director at IIAM said, “IIAM is excited to collaborate with Organovo and Samsara as they work toward clinical applications of liver cells as a therapy for the patient populations affected with inborn metabolic errors. This is yet another way for donors and their families to save or improve the lives of others.  As we move forward, these are cutting edge research projects that are exciting for our entire team.”

The agreement between Organovo and IIAM will also help MTF Biologics – the parent company of IIAM to advance on its mission of saving and healing lives. For example, speaking about the agreement, Joe Yaccarino, President and CEO of MTF Biologics said, “MTF Biologics could not be more pleased with our new agreement to support Organovo and their therapeutic endeavors.”

“As the parent company to IIAM, we are pushing to increase opportunities for biologics and clinical modalities of many tissue forms.  This latest collaboration is directly in line with our mission of saving and healing lives through honoring donated gifts, serving patients and advancing science,” concluded Yaccarino.