Prophet,
There are many references on this thread. But let's go back to the original event that blew the lid off this stock:
NEW YORK (November 6, 1998 1:03 p.m. EST nandotimes.com) -- Geron Corp. shares more than doubled Friday
morning after two research teams reported advances in studies looking for ways to grow human tissue for transplants.
Geron, a drug research company based in Menlo Park, Calif., holds the commercial rights to those human stem cells, which
scientists also hope to use to introduce new genes into the body to remedy inherited disease.
Geron was up $11.75 at $21.62 1/2 in Nasdaq trading by midday. On Thursday, the stock jumped 30 percent, as news of the
breakthrough leaked to investors.
Geron plans to sell cell types grown from stem cells to drug companies for use in laboratory drug testing. Geron also plans to
research various transplant applications.
Amid the euphoria, researchers admitted they haven't yet found an efficient way to develop stem cells into specific cell
types, and it remained unclear how Geron will profit from the development in the short term.
The two research teams were based at the University of Wisconsin and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
In a study published Friday in the journal Science, researchers at Wisconsin-Madison, announced they have cultured human
stem cells, the foundation source of cells that during gestation form all body parts.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins announced they also have isolated and grown stem cells. Their study is to be published later in
the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Both teams said they have demonstrated the stem cell lines would transform into specific cell types, with specific functions,
such as muscle, bone or nerve. Neither team was able to direct transformation, which occurred randomly.
Thomas Okarma, research vice president of Geron, said his company hopes to use stem cells to regenerate failing tissues.
"Because these cells do not age, they could be used to generate virtually limitless supply of cells and tissue for
transplantation," Okarma said. His firm helped to pay for some of the stem cell studies.
PHIL |
