| | | INTRO Here's my semi-annual exercise to see if I remember why I own the stocks I own, and so I can check back and see if their stories have changed. I post in case it helps others too.
Geron
GERN (market cap was $0.504B mid14 is $0.511B EOY14)
Geron is a leading edge biotech company that originally had several diverse technologies that were aimed at extending life: nuclear cell transfer, cloning, stem cells, telomerase. Failures in clinical trials and a long clinical trial process mean Geron has sold off or spun off almost all of their technologies except telomerase. That remaining technology, however, has the potential to treat many cancers, and possibly auto-immune diseases. Control telomerase and control cell life and death, killing off cells that should die (cancer) or prolonging life for cells dying prematurely (auto-immune). As expansive as those potentials are, clinical trials are best done ailment by ailment. Geron is in clinical trials to treat hemotological ailments. If telomerase successfully treats the targeted ailment, then the expansion of the technology and the ailments treated would create a very successful company.
As with its spin-off Asterias (AST), the potential exists, but because of the wide variation in possible timings, and because of the uncertain nature of innovative biotech, GERN is very speculative. The fact that they've had to shrink down to one technology has removed their earlier internal diversification. GERN's future relies on one very narrow trial.
DISCLOSURE LTBH since 1999 and continuing to hold (though I sold much, partly for diversification, partly to raise funds. trimbathcreative.wordpress.com
(I've also collected links to the other discussion boards and my other stocks over on my blog trimbathcreative.wordpress.com |
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