Organovo Holdings, Inc. has joined a new public-private Manufacturing USA initiative, the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI).  Headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire, ARMI is the 12th Manufacturing USA Institute.  ARMI brings together a consortium of nearly 100 partner organisations from industry, government, academia and the non-profit sector to develop next-generation manufacturing processes and technologies for cells, tissues and organs.

Approximately $80 million from the federal government will be combined with more than $200 million in cost share to support the development of tissue and organ manufacturing capabilities.  As part of continuing efforts to help revitalise American manufacturing and incentivise companies to invest in new technology development in the United States, ARMI will lead BiofabUSA on behalf of the Department of Defence.

Under the umbrella of Manufacturing USA, a public-private network that invests in the development of world-leading manufacturing technologies, ARMI will work to integrate and organise the fragmented collection of industry practices and domestic capabilities in tissue Biofabrication technology to better position the US relative to global competition.  ARMI will also focus on accelerating regenerative tissue research and creating state-of-the-art manufacturing innovations in biomaterial and cell processing for critical Department of Defense and civilian needs.

“We need to develop 21st century tools for engineered tissue manufacturing that will allow these innovations to be widely available,” said inventor Dean Kamen, ARMI’s chairman.

“By joining ARMI|Biofab USA, we connect with a valuable network of resources focused on the development of standards and robust production methods that are critical to the long-term success of creating cell-based products,” said Dr. Sharon Presnell, president, Samsara Sciences and chief scientific officer, Organovo.  “Samsara is a leading provider of highly specialised human liver cells, and we are committed to the development of industry-wide standards based on a clear understanding of customer requirements across a spectrum of applications.  The ARMI|BiofabUSA network provides deep expertise to accelerate this mission and improve the consistency and performance of cell-based products.”  

Presnell continued, “Organovo’s mission to deliver game-changing regenerative medicine products and in vitro liver models depends not only on a supply of well-qualified cellular raw materials, but also on our ability to further streamline and automate tissue production processes such as bioprinting and post-fabrication conditioning.  By joining the ARMI|BiofabUSA group, we have the opportunity to learn from other innovators, to share what we have learned, and develop partnerships that bring ground-breaking products to the market.”  

ARMI’s efforts are supported by forty-seven industrial partners, twenty-six academic and academically affiliated partners, and fourteen government and nonprofit partners. The ARMI partnership continues to grow.

Organovo is developing and commercialising a platform technology to produce and study living tissues that emulate key aspects of human biology and disease for use in drug discovery, clinical development, and therapeutic applications.  

Samsara Sciences, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Organovo Holdings, Inc. and is a provider of primary human liver cells for use in research and development.