The shares of Organovo Holdings (NYSE:ONVO) are trading higher today. The company entered into a multi-year research partnership agreement with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., on April 17, 2015.
The stock price of Organovo surged more than 15% to $5.17 per share at the time of this writing, around 11:57 A.M. in New York.
Organovo is a development stage company focused on developing and commercializing function human tissues for use in medical research, cosmetic and therapeutic applications.
Under the agreement, Merck will have access to Organovo’s commercial exVive3D Human Liver Tissue and service. The companies collaborate to develop multiple custom tissue models using Organovo’s proprietary NovoGen Bioprinting Platform, for use in drug development.
Organovo ex Vive3D Human Liver Tissue has strong commercial future
Organovo is confident that its exVive3D Human Liver Tissue and service has a strong commercial future.
The company recently stated, “We believe that as we penetrate the toxicology market, our exVive3D Human Liver Tissue and service will grow into the tens of millions in annual revenue, and has $100M+ revenue potential in the future as we pursue diligent sales and marketing efforts (inside of a total addressable market of over $1B).”
Organovo believes that it is on track to building a strong profit center in research tissue. The company is scheduled to launch its 3D bioprinted kidney tissues in 2016.
Organovo preliminary financial results
Yesterday, Organovo released its preliminary results for the quarter and fiscal 2015 ended March 31. The company posted $268 thousand in total revenues for the fourth quarter and approximately $571 thousand for the full year.
Organovo recorded total net cash utilization of $6.3 million for the quarter and $21.1 million for the full year. It ended the fiscal year with approximately $50.1 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Barry Michaels, CFO of Organovo said, “We are pleased to report preliminary fourth quarter and annual results, which primarily reflect the initial uptake of our pre-launch product and services. Fiscal 2015 was an exceptional year of accomplishment for Organovo, as we locked down our liver toxicity product and initiated the commercial launch of our product and service in November.”
