MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) today announced that four abstracts related to the telomerase inhibitor imetelstat have been accepted for presentation at the 59th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition to be held in Atlanta, Georgia from December 9-12, 2017. The abstracts were published today on the ASH website at www.hematology.org.

In accordance with ASH policies, abstracts submitted to the ASH Annual Meeting are embargoed from the time of submission. To be eligible for presentation at the ASH Annual Meeting, any additional data or information to be presented at the Annual Meeting may not be made public before the presentation. The imetelstat posters and slides will be available in the "R&D" section of Geron's website (www.geron.com) following the ASH Annual Meeting presentations.

Following the clinical data presentation at the ASH Annual Meeting, management will be hosting a live webcast of an analyst and investor meeting on December 11, 2017 to discuss the imetelstat clinical data in MDS presented. The audio and slide presentation will be accessible at www.geron.com on the Investor Relations pages, under Events. Following the live presentation, the webcast will be archived and available for replay at the same address for a period of 30 days.

Imetelstat (GRN163L; JNJ-63935937) is a potent and specific inhibitor of telomerase that is administered by intravenous infusion. This first-in-class compound, discovered by Geron, is a specially designed and modified short oligonucleotide, which targets and binds directly with high affinity to the active site of telomerase. Preliminary clinical data suggest imetelstat might have disease-modifying activity by inhibiting the progenitor cells of the malignant clones associated with hematologic malignancies in a relatively select manner. Most commonly reported adverse events in imetelstat clinical studies include fatigue, gastrointestinal symptoms and cytopenias. Imetelstat has not been approved for marketing by any regulatory authority.

On November 13, 2014, Geron entered into an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc., to develop and commercialize imetelstat 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. All regulatory, development, manufacturing and promotional activities related to imetelstat are being managed through a joint governance structure, with Janssen responsible for these activities.

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) the ability of imetelstat to deplete myelofibrosis hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells; (ii) the safety and efficacy of imetelstat; (iii) potential receipt by Geron of 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 (iv) 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) whether Janssen decides to continue to conduct IMerge; (ii) whether imetelstat is safe and efficacious and will succeed in IMerge by overcoming all of the clinical safety and efficacy, technical, scientific, manufacturing and regulatory challenges; (iii) whether the FDA or other health authorities permit IMerge to continue to proceed under the existing protocols or any amendments thereto; (iv) the prospective ability of imetelstat to deplete myelofibrosis hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells may not result in imetelstat being sufficiently efficacious to be approved for commercial use in any disease indication; (v) Geron's dependence on Janssen for the development, regulatory approval, manufacture and commercialization of imetelstat, including the risks that if Janssen were to breach or terminate the collaboration agreement or otherwise fail to successfully develop and commercialize imetelstat and in a timely manner, or at all, Geron would not obtain the anticipated financial and other benefits of the collaboration agreement with Janssen and the clinical development or commercialization of imetelstat could be delayed or terminated; (vi) whether any future efficacy or safety results from any clinical trial of imetelstat may cause the benefit/risk profile of imetelstat to become unacceptable; and (vii) whether patent coverage of imetelstat enables Janssen to successfully commercialize imetelstat. Additional information on the above-stated risks and uncertainties and additional risks, uncertainties and 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 quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. 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.