Geron to Present at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Healthcare Conference

MENLO PARK, Calif., April 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Geron Corporation GERN today announced that John A. Scarlett, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, is scheduled to present at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2015 Healthcare Conference in Las Vegas at 3:40 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, May 13. The presentation will include a review of the study design of the planned Phase 2 clinical trial of imetelstat in myelofibrosis patients. Janssen Biotech, Inc. ("Janssen") will be conducting the study.

As part of the study start-up activities, the study design information was posted on clinicaltrials.gov. The list of participating clinical trial sites, including multiple sites in the United States and Europe, will be uploaded on ongoing basis. The study is not yet open for enrollment.

A live webcast of the presentation will be available through the Investor Relations pages of Geron's website. Following the live presentation, the webcast will be archived and available for replay at the same address for a period of 30 days.

About the Imetelstat Collaboration

On November 13, 2014, Geron entered into an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Janssen to develop and commercialize imetelstat, the company's telomerase inhibitor product candidate, for oncology, including hematologic myeloid malignancies, and all other human therapeutics uses. Under the terms of the agreement, Geron received an upfront payment of $35 million and is eligible to receive additional payments up to a potential total of $900 million for the achievement of development, regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as royalties on worldwide net sales. Certain regulatory, development, manufacturing and promotional activities are being managed through a joint governance structure, with Janssen responsible for operational implementation of these activities.

About Geron

Geron is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the collaborative development of a first-in-class telomerase inhibitor, imetelstat, in hematologic myeloid malignancies. For more information about Geron, visit www.geron.com.

Use of Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release regarding: (i) timing and management of planned and potential clinical trials of imetelstat to be conducted under the collaboration agreement with Janssen, including the Phase 2 clinical trial in myelofibrosis, and other potential activities under the collaboration agreement with Janssen; (ii) the safety and efficacy of imetelstat; (iii) preliminary nature of the current design of the Phase 2 clinical trial in myelofibrosis; (iv) whether Geron would potentially receive additional payments up to a potential total of $900 million for the achievement of development, regulatory and commercial milestones, and royalties from sales of imetelstat; and (v) other statements that are not historical facts, constitute forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties, include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties related to: (i) receiving approval from regulatory authorities to proceed with the preliminary design of the Phase 2 clinical trial in myelofibrosis; (ii) the uncertain, time-consuming and expensive product development and regulatory process, including whether Geron and Janssen will succeed in overcoming all of the clinical safety and efficacy, technical, scientific, manufacturing and regulatory challenges in the development and commercialization of imetelstat; (iii) the fact that Janssen may terminate the collaboration agreement for any reason; (iv) whether imetelstat is safe and efficacious, and whether any future efficacy or safety results may cause the benefit-risk profile of imetelstat to become unacceptable; and (v) whether imetelstat can be applied to any or to multiple hematologic malignancies. Additional information on the above risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are contained in Geron's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the heading "Risk Factors," including Geron's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, and the facts and assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements may change. Except as required by law, Geron disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future information, events or circumstances.