Geron Corp. (GERN)

 Geron Corp (GERN)

http://www.geron.com/

Company Information:
Geron Corporation
230 Constitution Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA
Tel: 650-473-7700
Fax: 650-473-7750
Email: info@geron.com

CIK:  0000886744

Geron is developing first-in-class biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer and chronic degenerative diseases, including spinal cord injury, heart failure and diabetes. The company is advancing an anti-cancer drug and a cancer vaccine that target the enzyme telomerase through multiple clinical trials in different cancers.

Incorporated in the state of Delaware in 1990, Geron has been in business since 1992. Our headquarters and main facilities are located in Menlo Park, California. Geron Bio-Med Limited is our wholly-owned subsidiary located in Edinburgh, Scotland. TA Therapeutics, Limited is our majority-owned subsidiary located in Hong Kong.
 

Executive Management: 

http://www.geron.com/management

Affiliates: 

Geron Bio-Med Ltd

TA Therapeutics

Recent News: 

http://www.geron.com/media/releases.aspx

Filings:

http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?company=&match=&CIK=+0000886744&filenum=&State=&Country=&SIC=&owner=exclude&Find=Find+Companies&action=getcompany

Transfer Agent:
Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
250 Royall Street
Canton, MA 02021
Tel: 1-800-962-4284
Fax: 303-262-0700
Website: www.computershare.com

 

Investor Relations:

Tel: 650-473-7765
Email: info@geron.com

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Geron Clinical Trials

www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results

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NASDAQ GERN PAGE quotes.nasdaq.com/asp/SummaryQuote.asp

 DICTIONARY

Acute Myelogenous Leukemia is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells that accumulate in the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells.

Alzheimer's Disease: Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, fatal, degenerative disorder that attacks the neurons in the brain, resulting in loss of memory, cognitive function such as reasoning and language, and behavioral changes. The disease starts with the loss of neural connections, called synapses, in the hippocampus, affecting memory, and progresses to the cortex affecting language and thought.

Antiplatelet: Medication, including aspirin and newer agents used to prevent clumping together of platelets, one of the first things to occur in artery clotting. Platelet clumping is a risk factor for stroke.

Autologous refers to cells, tissues or even proteins that are reimplanted in the same individual as they come from. Bone marrow, skin biopsy, cartilage, and bone can be used as autografts.

A Chromosome is a part of a cell in an animal or plant. It contains genes which determine what characteristics the animal or plant will have.

Cytogenetics is a branch of genetics that is concerned with the study of the structure and function of the cell, especially the chromosomes.

Dendritic is a short branch at the end of a nerve cell, which receives signals from other cells.

Ecchymosis is the escape of blood from ruptured blood vessels into the surrounding tissue to form a purple or black-and-blue spot on the skin.

The Hippocampus is a major component of the brains of humans and other mammals. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in long-term memory and spatial navigation.

Idiopathic is an adjective used primarily in medicine meaning arising spontaneously or from an obscure or unknown cause.

Immunotherapy is a medical term defined as "Treatment of disease by inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an immune response"

Interim is used to describe something that is intended to be used until something permanent is done or established.

Intracranial: Of or pertaining to the brain or inside of the head. Within the cranium.

Leukapheresis is a laboratory procedure in which white blood cells are separated from a sample of blood.

The Limbic system (or Paleomammalian brain) is a set of brain structures including the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior thalamic nuclei, and limbic cortex, which support a variety of functions including emotion, behavior, long term memory, and olfaction.^[1] The term "limbic" comes from Latin limbus, loosely translating as "border" or "belt".

Lysosome: A sac-like compartment inside a cell that has enzymes that can break down cellular
components that need to be destroyed.

Macrophages: A large cell that acts as a scavenger, helping the immune system to destroy foreign agents.

Remission If someone who has had a serious disease such as cancer is in remission or if the disease is in remission, the disease has been controlled so that they are not as ill as they were.

T cells or T lymphocytes belong to a group of white blood cells known as lymphocytes, and play a central role in cell-mediated immunity. They can be distinguished from other lymphocyte types, such as B cells and natural killer cells by the presence of a special receptor on their cell surface called T cell receptors (TCR).

Thrombocytopenic purpura A systemic illness characterized by extensive ecchymoses and hemorrhages from mucous membranes and very low platelet counts; resulting from platelet destruction by macrophages due to an antiplatelet factor; childhood cases are usually brief and rarely present with intracranial hemorrhages, but adult cases are often recurrent and have a higher incidence of grave bleeding, especially intracranial.
 
Transfection of animal cells typically involves opening transient pores or "holes" in the cell membrane, to allow the uptake of material. Genetic material (such as supercoiled plasmid DNA or siRNA constructs), or even proteins such as antibodies, may be transfected.

NOTE: Definitions found with Google. All comments or suggestions are welcome.

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http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=35970903WHAT ARE TELOMERES AND TELOMERASE ?

http://www.informedtrades.com/trades.php?page=freetradingcourses

http://www.geron.com/

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=GERN

http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?ipage=qd&Symbol=GERN

Geron Corporation is a biotechnology company founded by Dr. Michael D. West based in Menlo Park, California. The company was incorporated in 1990 and began doing business in 1992. Geron Corporation focuses on creating drugs based on telomere and stem cell research^[3].

Geron is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol GERN. The current chief executive officer is Dr. Thomas B. Okarma, M.D., Ph.D. It was included in the SCCC Index, a 15 stock index of companies important "to the field of stem cell, cloning, and cell transplantation research and medicine" when that index was created in 2003 and as of July 2006 comprises 18.42% of the index^[4].

The company specializes in developing and commercialization of products in three specific areas: 1) therapeutic products for cancer that inhibit telomerase; 2) pharmaceuticals that activate telomerase in tissues impacted by cell aging, injury or degenerative diseases; and 3) cell-based therapies derived from human embryonic stem cells for treatment of various chronic diseases^[5].

Currently, Geron Corporation has two anti-cancer products in human clinical trials. The first, called GRN163L, is a drug that targets telomerase and has been shown to be effective in treating various cancers in animals^[6]. In studies conducted at Johns Hopkins University GRN163L was active against both CD138+ and CD138neg cancer stem cells and eliminated the colony forming potential of both by five weeks. Similarly, GRN163L inhibited the in vitro clonogenic growth of CD138neg Multiple Myeloma Cancer Stem Cells isolated from the bone marrow aspirates of patients with Multiple Myeloma. Geron has started human clinical trials and is testing GRN163L in patients with lymphocytic leukemia^[7]. Presently Geron is recruiting patients for six clinical trials using GRN163L, including lung cancer^[8], chronic lymphocytic leukemia^[9], solid tumors^[10].Also in trials at Duke University is GRNVAC1, a telomerase vaccine being used on patients with prostate cancer. With the vaccine, Geron plans to inject telomerase into the patient with metastatic prostate cancer to induce the body to produce a more aggressive immune response to the cancer. This vaccine has also produced significant initial results. Geron's progress with these telomerase drugs has been significant enough to have elicited a significant monetary investment in 2005 from Merck^[11].

In addition to testing drug candidates that exploit cancer cell's dependence on telomerase, Geron is researching the possible applications of activating the enzyme in normal cells to delay cellular senescence. The company is in the early stages of developing a telomerase based treatment for HIV called TAT0002 from astragalus which is actually the saponin cycloastragenol in Astragalus^[12]. Geron has granted a license to TAsciences.com to sell TA-65, the telomerase activator agent derived from the Chinese astragalus plant.

On January 23, 2009, Geron received FDA approval to begin Phase I testing of GRNOPC1 in humans ^[13]. GRNOPC1 is an embryonic stem cell based drug that is designed to treat spinal cord injuries. Animal tests have shown significant restoration of mobility in animals with spinal injuries that were treated with this drug ^[14]. Geron also has several other embryonic stem cell treatments that are still in the preclinical phase, including GRNCM1, a treatment for heart disease, and GRNIC1, a treatment for diabetes. In tests with diabetic mice, 80% of the mice given GRNIC1 were still alive in 50 days while the entire control group, which was given no treatment, perished^[15].

Since it was organized in 1990 Geron has been granted over 260 patents

Geron Corporation's patents in stem cell technology

Geron Corporation initially held exclusive rights to three cell types derived from embryonic stem cells, as the result of paying for the research originally conducted by Dr. James Thomson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.^[17] The patents on the other three cell types are owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). WARF and Geron did not charge academics to study human stem cells but did charge commercial users. In 2001 WARF came under public pressure to widen access to human stem-cell technology, and they launched legal action against Geron Corporation to recover some of the previously sold rights. The two sides agreed that Geron would keep the rights to only three cell types.^[18]

In October 2006, a legal challenge was mounted to overturn these patents by The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights and the non-profit patent-watchdog Public Patent Foundation.^[19] They contended that two of the patents granted to WARF are invalid because they cover a technique published in 1992 for which a patent had already been granted to an Australian researcher. Another part of the challenge came from the molecular biologist Jeanne Loring who stated that University of Wisconsin-Madison stem cell pioneer James Thomson's techniques (currently patents held by WARF) are rendered obvious by a 1990 paper and two textbooks.^[20] The outcome of this legal challenge was particularly relevant to the Geron Corporation as it can only license patents that are upheld.^[21] The patents were ultimately upheld when the reexamination concluded in 2008.^[22]

As an interim measure, on January 23, 2007 WARF relaxed the stem cell patents, allowing industry-sponsored research at academic and non-profit institutions without a license.^[23] WARF will allow easier and simpler cost free cell transfers among researchers and would not require a license or agreement from California's taxpayer-funded stem cell research program.^[24]

References

1. ^ Geron press release January 23 2009: Geron Receives FDA Clearance to Begin World's First Human Clinical Trial of Embryonic Stem Cell-Based Therapy
2. ^ GERN: Profile for GERON CORP - Yahoo! Finance
3. ^ The Bulletin - Philadelphia's Family Newspaper - Deja Vu All Over Again With Stem Cells
4. ^ Stem Cell Stocks : companies, profiles and links
5. ^ GERON
6. ^ Geron Announces Data on the Effects of Its Cancer Drug, GRN163L, on Multiple Myeloma at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting
7. ^ Safety and Dose Study of GRN163L Administered Weekly to Treat Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov
8. ^ [GRN163L ClinicalTrials.gov]
9. ^ ClinicalTrials.gov: Safety and Dose Study of GRN163L Administered Weekly to Treat Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
10. ^ ClinicalTrials.gov: Safety and Dose Study of GRN163L Administered Weekly to Treat Patients With Solid Tumor Malignancies
11. ^ Geron plans stock offering, Merck buying $18M in shares - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:
12. ^ TAT2 (cycloastragenol, CAS Registry no. 84605-18-5)
13. ^ Despite Bush Veto, Stem Cell Research Abounds - Forbes.com
14. ^ Keirstead HS, Nistor G, Bernal G, et al (May 2005). "Human embryonic stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cell transplants remyelinate and restore locomotion after spinal cord injury". J. Neurosci. 25 (19): 4694-705. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0311-05.2005. PMID 15888645. 
15. ^ News: Geron Presents New Data That Document Progress in Development of Therapeutic Products from Human Embryonic Stem Cells. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - Biotechnology from Bench to Business
16. ^ Geron - Patents
17. ^ The Badger Herald - WARF, Geron reach settlement
18. ^ Center for Genetics and Society : How a University's Patents May Limit Stem-Cell Research
19. ^ _Science_, 2006
20. ^ Nature Reports Stem Cells 8 November 2007
21. ^ Center for Genetics and Society : Stem Cell Patents Come Under Fire
22. ^ WARF press release
23. ^ SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Business > Biotechnology - Stem cell scientists shout out hallelujah
24. ^ http://www.pubpat.org/warfstemcelleased.htm
25. ^ Geron's Cloning Quandary - Forbes.com
26. ^ BW Online | June 2, 2003 | Online Extra: Thomas Okarma: Don't Ban Stem-Cell Research
27. ^ H.R. 1644, Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001, and H.R.____, Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001

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LINKS OF INTEREST

Link to stockshark77's 1743 post regarding Geron's work with telomerase investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx

Link to Postman's 1440 post regarding Geron's possible price per share  http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=38645620

Link to KarinCA's 1542 post regarding Corning and Geron collaboration. http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=47367942

Link to Postman's 1442 post regarding GE Healthcare and Geron collaboration http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=39153565

Link to krays' 1545 post with CBS video regarding Geron and spinal cord injury. http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=48051933

Link to Postman's 1583 post with a list of clinical trials http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=52371833

Link to Paula's 1623 post with information regarding embryonic stem cell research http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=53679931

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