Paul Gallant Takes GM Slot With 3D Bioprinting Innovators Organovo

Organovo Holdings, Inc. has made waves with their ability to deliver scientific and medical breakthroughs via 3D bioprinting technology.

The company’s 3D bioprinting methods enable the automated creation of living human tissues which mimic the form – and function – of human tissues within the body, and they’ve recently announced collaborations with L’Oreal to produce skin tissue which will be used for research and toxicity testing.

They also inked a deals with Merck to print liver and kidney tissues which will be used to study drug toxicity and with the Yale School of Medicine to develop 3D organ tissues which will one day be used in surgical transplantation research.

Organovo now says that they’ve hired Paul Gallant, the former COO of DiscoveRx, a global scientific product and services company, as their General Manager of the company’s in vitro tissue service and product business.

Gallant’s experience includes more than 20 years of management and R&D work in the drug discovery industry.

According to Organovo, Gallant will be tasked with driving the success of the company’s toxicology contract research services business. He will work closely with the Organovo sales and marketing team alongside Michael Renard, and with the Research and Development team under Sharon Presnell.

“Paul has an impressive track record in creating business units and growing commercial operations to serve customers focused on research and development of innovative therapeutics. Paul’s experience in advancing new technology platforms in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations and academic institutions will be invaluable as he develops and executes strategies for growing our business,” says Keith Murphy, the chairman and chief executive officer of Organovo.

At DiscoveRx, Gallant was responsible for the P&L results of that company’s largest business unit, drug discovery services. He also served as senior director at Ambit Pharmaceuticals, and led the development and commercialization efforts for the KINOMEscan platform, the world’s largest commercial kinase screening panel.

“Organovo offers a unique technology that has the potential to transform toxicology testing and drug development for the pharmaceutical industry, as well as develop long-range applications in organ replacement. I look forward to building Organovo’s customer base and developing and implementing strategies to advance Organovo’s products to realize the promise of 3D bioprinting,” Gallant said.

In addition to his other postings, Gallant also led R&D and service teams at Amgen, Inc., Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Organovo has a number of products currently in development such as the exVive3D Human Kidney Tissue project, and that’s scheduled for released some time in late 2016. The company is also actively conducting research on specific tissues for use in direct surgical applications.

Organovo says that, as of mid-June, they have nearly four years worth of cash on hand for operations and no debt. They say the decision to raise an additional $40 million via an underwritten public offering will provide funds for general corporate purposes, including research and development, the development and commercialization of its products, general administrative expenses, license or technology acquisitions, and working capital and capital expenditures.

What do you think about this announcement that Paul Gallant has been named as a new General Manager at Organovo. Let us know in the Paul Gallant forum thread on 3DPB.com.