SAN DIEGO, Aug. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Organovo Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ONVO) (“Organovo” or the “Company”) announced the grant of inducement awards on August 14, 2018 to Dr. Steven G. Hughes, its new chief medical officer. The inducement awards were approved by the compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors and issued as a material inducement to Dr. Hughes agreeing to join the Company in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
Pursuant to the terms of his offer letter, Dr. Hughes received a stock option to purchase 974,694 shares of Organovo’s common stock (the “Stock Option”) and a restricted stock unit award for 160,714 shares of common stock (the “RSU”). The Stock Option has an exercise price of $1.12 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Organovo’s common stock on August 14, 2018. One-fourth of the option shares and RSU grant will vest on August 15, 2019, and the remaining option and RSU shares will vest on a quarterly basis over the subsequent three years, subject to Dr. Hughes’ continuous service through the applicable vesting date. The Stock Option and RSU both have ten-year terms. While the Stock Option and RSU were issued as inducement grants outside of the Company’s 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), the terms and conditions applicable to the Stock Option and RSU’s will be consistent with the Plan, the stock option and restricted stock unit awards previously granted to the Company’s executive officers under the Plan and the Company’s Severance and Change in Control Plan.
About Organovo Holdings, Inc.
Organovo is a biotech platform company that has developed a leadership position with its revolutionary ability to 3D bioprint tissues with human functionality. The Company is pursuing multiple IND-track programs to develop its NovoTissues® to address a number of serious unmet medical needs in adult and pediatric populations, initially focusing on liver disease. Organovo’s first IND-track program for Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency recently received orphan drug designation from the FDA, and the Company expects to file its first IND in 2020. In order to help fund its plan to initiate multiple IND-track programs, the Company is providing access to its ExVive™ in vitro tissue disease modeling platform to facilitate high value drug discovery and development collaborations. Organovo’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Samsara Sciences, provides the Company and its clients with high quality human liver and kidney cells for research applications. Organovo is changing the shape of life science research and transforming medical care. Learn more at www.organovo.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current expectations, but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential benefits and therapeutic uses of the Company’s therapeutic liver tissue, including the benefits of an orphan designation; the Company’s expectations regarding the FDA regulatory pathway and anticipated timelines for its regulatory filings; the potential market opportunity for the Company’s therapeutic tissue candidates; and customer demand for and acceptance of our disease modeling and other in vitro tissue platforms. The factors that could cause the Company's actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the possibility that the final results of the Company's preclinical studies may be different from the Company's studies or interim preclinical data results and may not support further clinical development of its therapeutic tissues; the Company may not successfully complete the required preclinical and clinical trials required to obtain regulatory approval for its therapeutic tissues on a timely basis or at all; risks that competitive products may adversely impact the market opportunity for the Company’s therapeutic tissue candidates; the Company's ability to develop, market and sell products and services based on its technology; the expected benefits and efficacy of the Company's products, services and technology; the Company’s ability to execute framework agreements involving multi-year commitments and routine use on a timely basis, or at all; the Company’s ability to successfully complete studies and provide the technical information required to support market acceptance of its products, services and technology, on a timely basis or at all; the Company's business, research, product development, regulatory approval, marketing and distribution plans and strategies, including its use of third party distributors; the Company’s ability to recognize deferred revenue; and the Company’s ability to meet its fiscal-year 2019 goals and outlook. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in the Company's filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on May 31, 2018. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements that the Company may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, the Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.