Geron Announces Publication of Preclinical Studies with Stem Cell Therapeutics

Geron Corporation has announced the publication of preclinical studies that support the safety and utility of GRNOPC1, Geron's lead human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-based therapeutic product for the treatment of spinal cord injury.

In the studies published in Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Hans Keirstead and his colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, injected GRNOPC1 into the lesion site of rats that received either very mild or moderate spinal cord contusion injuries.

GRNOPC1 survived in both the mild and moderate lesion sites, with a broader distribution of transplanted cells and robust remyelination in the more severe injuries, replicating previous studies.

"These studies provide evidence for the safety of GRNOPC1 therapy for spinal cord injury," said Thomas B Okarma, Ph.D., M.D., Geron's chief executive officer.

"However, they represent only one part of the extensive preclinical safety profiling we are performing on GRNOPC1 in preparation for clinical development."

Rats that received the mild injury exhibited a transient decrease in hind limb ambulatory activity which resolved completely within 1-2 weeks.

Since these animals completely recovered in a relatively short period of time, they serve as a sensitive model to detect any intervention that may interfere with recovery.

Transplantation of GRNOPC1 did not impede the rate or stability of recovery in the mildly injured animals.