Search Results for: geron

Great news: BioTime Subsidiary Asterias Acquires Geron Embryonic Stem Cell Program

February 1, 2021 / By / 1 Comment

BioTime (BTX), via its subsidiary Asterias, has formally purchased the Geron (GERN) embryonic stem cell (ESC) research program and assets. Incidentally, Asterias in nature refers to a genus of sea stars including starfish and you can see it in their logo. Perhaps this was chosen given the amazing regenerative capacity of starfish? You may recall …

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BioTime CEO Mike West Interview Part 2: Geron & hESC

February 1, 2021 / By / 3 Comments
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When you want to both know the real history of the pluripotent stem cell-based biotech industry and perspectives on its future, there are only a handful of people to turn to and one of them is definitely Dr. Michael West, CEO of BioTime. I’m doing a several part series of blog posts on a lengthy …

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CIRM comment on prospect of BioTime buying Geron stem cell program

February 1, 2021 / By

When biotech Geron punted on its embryonic stem cell (ESC) program despite having an ongoing FDA-approved clinical trial for spinal cord injury and tens of millions in loan funding from CIRM, many in the stem cell field were upset to put it mildly. Geron repaid the CIRM loan with interest. At the time, the general …

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The stem cell gestalt of Geron Goodbye and the future of ACT

February 1, 2021 / By / 6 Comments
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Last year one of the biggest events in the stem cell field was biotech Geron punting its embryonic stem cell (ESC) program. Much consternation followed. Some folks opposed to ESCs happily pronounced ESC research dead. Some folks in favor of ESC thought the world was ending a year early. Others tried to look on the …

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What does Geron’s departure mean for ACT? Some perspectives

February 1, 2021 / By / 2 Comments

About two months about Geron shocked and disappointed the stem cell community by dropping its stem cell program. The move was reportedly made for financial, not scientific reasons. Biotech companies have to be financially sound in order to help stem cell researchers turn science into cures and Geron’s leadership had to do what it thought …

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The Scarlett letter? What the experts really think about Geron

February 1, 2021 / By / 6 Comments

The grapevine is afire with the Geron news and there are many interpretations out there of what it means and why it happened. Based on several accounts from folks who remain anonymous, here is the most probable prediction of what happened to lead us to yesterday’s announcement. Geron has been worried for a long time …

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The day after Geron’s news: a realistic outlook for the stem cell field

February 1, 2021 / By / 2 Comments

Yesterday Geron announced it would be immediately stopping its stem cell research program. What does this mean? While this program has (or should I say “had”) a number of elements, at its heart was of course its hESC-based OPC drug (GRNOPC1) for spinal cord injury, which was in an FDA-approved Phase I Clinical Trial that …

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Rumors flying on Geron, ACT, CIRM and the stem cell field

February 1, 2021 / By / 1 Comment

Geron abruptly announced today that it will no longer pursue its spinal cord injury trial using oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) derived from hESC. Several sources indicate that Geron is hoping to find a buyer of its drug for this trial, GRNOPC1 and the hope is that the trial could be rescued in a sense. Why …

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Bad news as Geron to quit hESC SCI trial for financial reasons

February 1, 2021 / By / 6 Comments
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Reportedly, Geron has decided to only focus on cancer research and for financial reasons has shut down its hESC trial for spinal cord injury. This is a very sad day for stem cell science. (Update in 2020: the firm still exists, but is working in different areas. The stock has struggled.) No more spinal cord …

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The latest scoop on ACT and Geron

February 1, 2021 / By

Advanced Cell Technology  (ACT) announced today that it has treated two patients in its clinical trials: one for Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy (see official trial page for a lot more info) and one for Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration (see official trial page here for a lot more info). The patients underwent the treatment at UCLA and each …

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