3-D printing, bioprinting pushing the edges of regenerative medicine ($ONVO)

Organovo Holdings, Inc. (OTC: ONVO) is focused on delivering breakthrough three-dimensional biology capabilities to create tissue on demand for research and surgical applications. As the first company with a three-dimensional tissue technology that works across tissue types, we are meeting the promise of regenerative medicine to fill unmet medical needs. Organovo's powerful NovoGen Bioprinting platform creates human tissues starting with any cell source. From disease models to tissue creation, bioprinting solves urgent needs in biological research. 

On Cleveland.com, contributor Brie Zeltner wrote an article about the idea behind bioprinting, its applications, and some the companies and researchers working on it. She writes,

"Imagine a custom-made knee replacement modeled to fit exactly from scans of your own bone, built one infinitesimal layer at a time by a printer that uses 'ink' made from living cells. Or a replacement heart valve, seeded with human stem cells, printed in a single functioning piece. It may sound like science fiction, but these feats of bioengineering are not far from being realized."

She continues,

"Organovo Inc., a San Diego-based tissue engineering company, is using printers to make small amounts of human tissue, including muscle and blood vessels. With the printer precisely placing cells, the team is able to create tissue that is almost indistinguishable from the real thing under a microscope. And pharmaceutical companies are using the printed tissue to test their drugs, saving money by identifying ones that would fail early in clinical trials. The collaboration will fund their continued research."

Read the full article at Cleveland.com.