Geron Corporation to Present At Needham & Company 1st Annual Biotech Conference

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Geron Corporation to Present At Needham & Company 1st Annual Biotech Conference

5/29/2002 7:30:00 AM

MENLO PARK, Calif., May 29, 2002 (BW HealthWire) -- Geron Corporation (GERN) will be presenting a company overview on Tuesday, June 4, 2002, at the Needham & Company 1st Annual Biotech Conference at 11:30 a.m., Eastern Time. The presentation will highlight the company's current product development efforts within oncology and regenerative medicine.


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The review of the Geron's portfolio of telomerase-based anti-cancer therapies will include an update on GRN163 (a highly potent and specific telomerase inhibitor); progress on the company's ex vivo and in vivo telomerase vaccines, and a review of the telomerase promoter-driven oncolytic virus program. The presentation will also include a review of Geron's progress in deriving multiple differentiated cell types from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and updates on the company's latest hESC research in Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, diabetes and heart failure. Thomas B. Okarma, Ph.D., M.D., Geron's president and chief executive officer, will be giving the presentation.

The presentation will be available at the following website address: www.twst.com/econf/mm/needham2/gern.html (http://www.twst.com/econf/mm/needham2/gern.html). The webcast will be archived for 60 days.

For further information, please contact Geron Corporation at 650-473-7765, or visit Geron's website at www.geron.com (http://www.geron.com) or Needham & Company's website at www.needhamco.com (http://www.needhamco.com).
Geron is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutic and diagnostic products for applications in oncology and regenerative medicine, and research tools for drug discovery. Geron's product development programs are based upon three patented core technologies: telomerase, human embryonic stem cells and nuclear transfer.

CONTACT: Geron Corporation Laura Zobkiw, 650/473-7765URL: http://www.businesswire.comToday's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internetwith Hyperlinks to your home page.
Copyright (C) 2002 Business Wire. All rights reserved.

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Scientists say stem cells could cure spinal injuries

ALASTAIR DALTON SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT

http://www.news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=533952003
STEM cells could be used to cure spinal injuries like those suffered by the Superman actor Christopher Reeve after scientists revealed yesterday that the technique had worked in rats.

Californian researchers announced in Edinburgh the first successful transplant of human embryonic stem cells to an animal to treat spinal injuries.

The stem cells were adapted to become nerve-like cells and injected into rats which had had some of the nerves in their spinal cord severed. The treatment repaired nerve damage which had prevented the rats from being able to support their tails or one of their hind legs.

In previous experiments, such cells were rejected by the immune system.

Professor Tom Okarma, the chief executive of the Geron Corporation, who announced the breakthrough, said: "This is a pretty dramatic example of proof of concept."

Prof Okarma was speaking at the launch of the Scottish Stem Cell Network, at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, which will bring together the country's world-leading scientists in the research area.

Dr Marilyn Moore, the network's co-ordinator, said: "This is an extremely encouraging step towards trials in humans."

However, she said scientists were cautious about starting such tests yet because of opposition in the United States and Europe. Possible new European laws could restrict trials in Britain, where they are currently permitted.

The research was partially funded by the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, which was established by the actor after he was paralysed in a riding accident in 1995.

The new network is backed by £190,000 funding from Scottish Enterprise. Scotland holds 9 per cent of the world's patents from stem cell research, which is being spearheaded by the Institute for Stem Cell Research at Edinburgh University and the Roslin Institute in Midlothian.

Stem cells can be differentiated into any type of cell and hold the potential for repairing a range of damaged organs.