By Donald Zuhn --
On Monday, Geron Corporation announced that it was discontinuing further development of its human embryonic stem cell (hESC) programs and would be seeking partners for each of the programs, which include oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (GRNOPC1) for central nervous system disorders, cardiomyocytes (GRNCM1) for heart disease, pancreatic islet cells (GRNIC1) for diabetes, dendritic cells (GRNVAC2) as an immunotherapy vehicle, and chondrocytes (GRNCHND1) for cartilage repair. In place of the hESC programs, the biopharmaceutical company noted that it would be focusing on its oncology programs.
According to Dr. John Scarlett, Geron's CEO, the company's decision to discontinue its hESC programs was necessitated by "the current environment of capital scarcity and uncertain economic conditions." By narrowing the company's focus to the oncology therapeutic area, Dr. Scarlett explained that Geron would have sufficient financial resources to reach important clinical milestones over the next 20 months for its oncology drug candidates imetelstat and GRN1005. He added that "[t]his would not be possible if we continue to fund the stem cell programs at the current levels."
Geron noted that the decision to narrow the company's focus was made after "a strategic review of the costs, value inflection timelines and clinical, manufacturing and regulatory complexities associated with the Company's research and clinical-stage assets." As a result of the decision, Geron will be eliminating 66 positions, representing 38% of the company's workforce. The company will also be closing its GRNOPC1 trial for spinal cord injury -- the first hESC trial approved in the U.S. -- to further enrollment, but would continue to follow currently enrolled patients, accrue data, and update the FDA and medical community on the trial's progress. The trial, which was initiated last April, has shown GRNOPC1 to be well tolerated with no serious adverse events.
For additional information regarding this and other related topics, please see:
• "Geron Initiates Human ES Cell Clinical Trial," October 18, 2010
• "Geron Gets Approval for First Human Clinical Trial Using Embryonic Stem Cells," January 25, 2009
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