Geron Collaborators Report Potential for Telomerase Inhibitors as Preventative Cancer Therapy.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Jan. 4, 2001

Geron Corporation (Nasdaq:GERN) announced today that researchers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (UTSW) have shown that model telomerase inhibitors may be useful as agents to prevent cancer occurrence. In a study reported in the January issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Drs. Jerry Shay and Woodring Wright, with other researchers at the National Cancer Institute, treated noncancerous breast epithelial cells sourced from a woman with Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a genetic condition with a predisposition for breast cancer, with telomerase inhibitors. After three months in culture, the frequency of cell immortalization was reduced up to 100 percent against the control group.

"These are important findings," said Dr. Calvin Harley, Geron's chief scientific officer. "While telomerase is a known cancer marker and target for inhibition therapy, this is the first work showing that when safe and effective inhibitor drugs are developed, they could also be effective in preventing the onset of disease when administered prophylactically to people predisposed to cancer. Diagnostic and therapeutic use of genetic markers for cancer predisposition is an evolving field. The next step will be the development of preventive therapies."

Drs. Shay and Wright are exclusive collaborators with Geron Corporation in telomerase research and Geron holds exclusive licenses for UTSW intellectual property in this field.

Geron is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing therapeutic and diagnostic products for applications in oncology and regenerative medicine, and research tools for drug discovery. Geron's product development programs are based upon three patented core technologies: telomerase, human embryonic stem cells and nuclear transfer.

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This news release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements in this press release regarding product development and future applications of Geron's technology constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, dependence on collaborative partners and the maintenance of our intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in Geron's periodic reports, including the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2000.