Geron Enters Into Research and Exclusive License Agreements With the University of... [FXRHVDM]
Geron Enters Into Research and Exclusive License Agreements With the University of Oxford for Derivation of Dendritic Cells from Human Embryonic Stem Cells
MENLO PARK, Calif.--March 27, 2006--
Geron Corporation (Nasdaq:GERN) announced today that it has entered into two agreements with the University of Oxford relating to its program to produce dendritic cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). In a license agreement with Isis Innovation Ltd., the University's technology transfer company, Geron receives a worldwide exclusive license under patent applications filed by the University for pioneering work by Oxford scientists who derived dendritic cells from hESCs. In a linked research agreement, Geron will fund work in the University's Sir William Dunn School of Pathology to further develop the technology under the guidance of Dr. Paul Fairchild and Professor Herman Waldmann.
"We are very pleased to enter into a research collaboration with this renowned scientific team at Oxford," said Dr. Jane Lebkowski, Geron's senior vice president of regenerative medicine. "The combination of the Oxford technology with Geron's ability to grow and differentiate hESCs on a commercial scale opens up new possibilities in both vaccine delivery and tolerance-induction for hESC-based cell therapies. The research at Oxford is designed to complement Geron's internal efforts in this field, and we look forward to a collaborative and productive relationship."
Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized cells of the immune system that have several functions of potential therapeutic significance. In one form, DCs are highly effective in presenting foreign antigens to the immune system to initiate an immune response against the source of those antigens, such as an invading pathogen or a tumor. Geron's GRNVAC1 cancer vaccine consists of dendritic cells isolated from patients and pulsed with RNA encoding telomerase, an antigen that is highly expressed in nearly all cancer cells. This vaccine has demonstrated safety and induction of a beneficial immune response against telomerase in Phase 1 clinical trials conducted at Duke University. In a future product, the scalable production of dendritic cells from hESCs could serve as an alternative to isolating DCs from each patient, and possibly as a broadly useful vaccine delivery vehicle.
In another form, DCs may act to block an immune response against an antigen by teaching the immune system not to attack it -- a process known as "tolerizing" the individual to that antigen. In organ transplant studies where bone marrow cells from the organ donor are given to the recipient along with the organ, such a tolerizing effect has been observed -- patients receiving such double transplants have a reduced risk of their immune systems rejecting the transplanted organ. This permits physicians to reduce, or potentially eliminate, the need for transplant patients to receive long-term immunosuppressive drugs to avoid organ rejection. Geron believes a similar approach may enable immune tolerance for its hESC-based cell therapies, including cardiomyocytes for heart failure, pancreatic islets for diabetes, and oligodendrocytes for spinal cord injury. Since the same pluripotent hESC line could be used to generate both tolerizing DCs and the therapeutic cells, co-administration of these two cell populations could potentially circumvent immune rejection without the need for immunosuppressive drugs.
The license agreement provides Geron with exclusive rights to the patent applications already filed for the Oxford technology, as well as inventions arising from the collaborative research that Geron will fund at Oxford. "The two agreements work hand-in-hand so that new technologies coming out of the research can be rolled seamlessly into the license," noted David J. Earp, J.D., Ph.D., Geron's senior vice president of business development and chief patent counsel. "The license agreement provides Geron with worldwide exclusive rights across all fields, which will serve both to protect Geron's investment in developing products based on this technology and also to provide the opportunity to license other companies interested in developing applications of the technology."
About Isis Innovation Ltd.
Isis Innovation Ltd. is the technology transfer company of the University of Oxford, commercializing the research generated by University researchers and owned by the University. Isis was established in 1988 and in 1997 started a major expansion phase; Isis is a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Oxford. The University assigns its intellectual property to Isis (where there are no pre-existing exploitation arrangements) and Isis then evaluates, protects and markets the intellectual property.
About Geron Corporation
Geron is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing three groups of products: i) therapeutic products for oncology that target telomerase; ii) pharmaceuticals that activate telomerase in tissues impacted by senescence, injury or degenerative disease; and iii) cell-based therapies derived from its human embryonic stem cell platform for applications in multiple chronic diseases.
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 potential applications of Geron's technologies, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, uncertainty of clinical trial results or regulatory approvals or clearances, need for future capital, dependence upon collaborators and 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 annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005.
Geron Corporation David L. Greenwood, 650-473-7765 |
