Geron Announces Collaboration with Corning

Geron Corporation has announced that they have entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Corning Incorporated for the development and commercialization of synthetic surface matrices for the growth of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

Geron and Corning Life Sciences will work together to develop synthetic growth surfaces to replace the biological surface coatings that are widely used today to grow hESCs.

Under the agreement, Corning receives a license under Geron patents covering hESC growth as well as a sublicense under the foundational hESC patents held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

Products resulting from these collaborative efforts will be sold by Corning subject to certain commercial use restrictions. Geron will receive a royalty on such sales.

"Techniques for scalable and cost-effective hESC manufacturing are key to our product-based business model for hESC therapies for degenerative diseases," said Thomas B. Okarma Ph.D., M.D., Geron's President and Chief Executive Officer.

"Geron scientists pioneered feeder-free growth of the cells. We continue to build on that work by developing new and improved approaches to hESC production."

"The availability of appropriate synthetic growth surfaces will benefit both Geron and the field of hESC research more broadly."

"Corning is a world-leader in cell culture surfaces, and we are excited to partner with the company in these efforts."

"Corning is equally excited to partner with a world-leader in stem cell biology such as Geron," said Jeff Mooney, Ph.D., Director of Commercial Technology for Corning Life Sciences.

"We are committed to bringing our core expertise in materials, surfaces, biology, and process engineering to enhance current methods of cell growth and bring innovative products to the life sciences market."

A major advantage of hESCs over other types of stem cells is their ability to maintain pluripotency and proliferative capacity indefinitely in culture.

This allows for the scalable expansion of the undifferentiated cells prior to differentiation into therapeutic cell populations.

Conventionally, hESCs have been grown on a supporting layer of mouse or human feeder cells that supplied growth factors needed to maintain the pluripotency of the cells.

Geron scientists have developed techniques for growing hESCs without feeder cells.