Organovo, the bioprinting startup that hopes to eventually print whole replacement human organs, has struck agreements with two pharma companies to assist in drug testing. Organovo will print tiny scaffolds on which human tissue can grow into lifelike shapes. These shapes tend to be better grounds for drug testing, as cells in a simple petri dish tend to behave differently than they do in a human body. Testing efficiency should improve. Meanwhile, the income generated from these agreements will enable Organovo to maintain operations while they continue to work on their eventual goal of replicating human organs. Evidently Organovo is not yet “in the black”, but such is the way of startup companies.
