Our history

For more than 30 years, we’ve researched, experimented, adapted and even defied conventions in pursuit of new possibilities for patients. From the beginning, we’ve been driven by the big idea behind telomerase inhibition – that you can kill cancer cells by targeting the enzyme that drives their uncontrolled growth.

Following a Nobel Prize-winning discovery by our early collaborators of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase, Geron was the first company to develop a potential treatment to inhibit telomerase.

With the potential to bring our first-in-class investigational telomerase inhibitor to patients who urgently need advances, our story is only just beginning.


Telomerase inhibition

Building on decades of research and discovery, the groundbreaking science of telomerase inhibition now has the potential to change the course of blood cancers—changing lives for the better.


Our culture

woman in brown jacket smiling

At Geron, our resilient and collaborative culture has been foundational to our advancement of telomerase inhibition as a potential treatment to change the course of blood cancers.



Our leadership team

We are uniquely positioned to develop and potentially commercialize our first-in-class investigational telomerase inhibitor, with significant clinical development, regulatory and commercial experience in hematologic malignancies and the manufacturing of oligonucleotides.



References

i Muller HJ. The remaking of chromosomes. Collecting Net 13, 181-198 (1938)
ii Hayflick L, Moorhead PS. The serial cultivation of human diploid cell strains. Exp Cell Res 25, 585-621 (1961)
iii Hayflick L. The limited in vitro lifetime of human diploid cell strains Exp Cell Res 37, 614-636 (1965)
iv Watson JD. Origin of concatemeric T4 DNA. Nature New Bio 41, 181-190 (1973)
v Olovnikov AM. A theory of maginotomy. The incomplete copying of template margin in enzymatic synthesis of polynucleotides and biological significance of the phenomenon. J Theor Biol 41, 181-90 (1973)
vi Elizabeth H. Blackburn Facts. The Nobel Prize. Elizabeth H. Blackburn – Facts (nobelprize.org). Accessed November 3, 2022.
vii Greider CW, Blackburn EH. A telomeric sequence in the RNA of Tetrahymena telomerase required for telomere repeat synthesis. Nature 337, 331-337 (1989)
viii Kim NW, Piatyszek MA, Prowse KR, Harley CB, West MD, Ho PO, Coviello GM, Wright WE, Weinrich SL, Shay JW. Specific association of human telomerase activity with immortal cells and cancer. Science 266, 2011-2015 (1994)
ix Nakamura TM, Morin GB, Chapman KB, Weinrich SL, Andrews WH, Lingner J, Harley CB, Cech TR. Telomerase catalytic subunit homologs from fission yeast and human. Science 277, 955-9 (1997)
x Weinrich SL, Pruzan R, Ma L, Ouellette M, Tesmer VM, Holt SE, Bodnar AG, Lichtsteiner S, Kim NW, Trager JB, Taylor RD, Carlos R, Andrews WH, Wright WE, Shay JW, Harley CB, Morin GB. Reconstitution of human telomerase with the template RNA component hTR and the catalytic protein subunit hTRT. Nat Genet 17, 498-502 (1997)
xi Asai A, Oshima Y, Yamamoto Y, Uochi TA, Kusaka H, Akinaga S, Yamashita Y, Pongracz K, Pruzan R, Wunder E, Piatyszek M, Li S, Chin AC, Harley CB, Gryaznov S. A novel telomerase template antagonist (GRN163) as a potential anticancer agent. Cancer Res 63, 3‍931-3‍939 (2003)
xii Herbert BS, Gellert GC, Hochreiter A, Pongracz K, Wright WE, Zielinska D, Chin AC, Harley CB, Shay JW, Gryaznov SM. Lipid modification of GRN163, an N3’-P5′ thio-phosphoramidate oligonucleotide, enhances the potency of telomerase inhibition. Oncogene 24, 5‍262-5‍268 (2005)
xiii The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009. The Nobel Prize. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009. Accessed November 3, 2022.
xiv Dual Publications in the New England Journal of Medicine Highlight Transformative Potential of Imetelstat in Hematologic Myeloid Malignancies. Geron.com. Geron Corporation – Dual Publications in the New England Journal of Medicine Highlight Transformative Potential of Imetelstat in Hematologic Myeloid Malignancies. Accessed November 3, 2022.
xv Study to Evaluate Imetelstat (GRN163L) in Subjects with International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) Low or Intermediate-1 Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). ClinicalTrials.gov. Study to Evaluate Imetelstat (GRN163L) in Subjects With International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) Low or Intermediate-1 Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) – Full Text View – ClinicalTrials.gov. Accessed November 3, 2022.
xvi Geron Announces First Patient Dosed in IMerge Phase 3 Clinical Trial in Lower Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes. Geron.com. Geron Corporation – Geron Announces First Patient Dosed in IMerge Phase 3 Clinical Trial in Lower Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes. Accessed November 3, 2022.
xvii Imetelstat Achieves Meaningful and Durable Transfusion Independence in High Transfusion-Burden Patients With Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes in a Phase II Study. Steensma, et al., Journal of Clinical Oncology 2020.
xviii IMbark Phase 2: Randomized, Single-Blind, Multicenter Phase II Study of Two Doses of Imetelstat in Relapsed or Refractory Myelofibrosis. Mascarenhas, et al., Journal of Clinical Oncology 2021.
xix A Study Comparing Imetelstat Versus Best Available Therapy for the Treatment of Intermediate-2 or High-risk Myelofibrosis (MF) Who Have Not Responded to Janus Kinase (JAK)-Inhibitor Treatment. ClinicalTrials.gov. A Study Comparing Imetelstat Versus Best Available Therapy for the Treatment of Intermediate-2 or High-risk Myelofibrosis (MF) Who Have Not Responded to Janus Kinase (JAK)-Inhibitor Treatment – Full Text View – ClinicalTrials.gov. Accessed November 3, 2022.
xx Geron Announces First Patient Dosed in ImproveMF Phase 1 Combination Study in Frontline Myelofibrosis. Geron.com. Geron Corporation – Geron Announces First Patient Dosed in IMproveMF Phase 1 Combination Study in Frontline Myelofibrosis. Accessed November 3, 2022.
xxi Geron Announces FDA Acceptance of New Drug Application for Imetelstat for the Treatment of Lower Risk MDS. Geron.com. Geron Corporation – Geron Announces FDA Acceptance of New Drug Application for Imetelstat for the Treatment of Lower Risk MDS. Accessed August 21, 2023.