Geron Appoints Two New Independent Board Members
March 28 2019 - 8:00AM
Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN) today announced the appointments
of Dawn C. Bir and Elizabeth G. O’Farrell as independent members of
its Board of Directors. In addition, Ms. Bir will serve as a member
of the Board’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and
Ms. O’Farrell will serve as a member of the Board’s Audit
Committee.
“We enthusiastically welcome two accomplished biopharmaceutical
executives to Geron’s Board, both of whom have deep experience with
guiding the growth of companies from clinical to commercial stage,”
said John A. Scarlett, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“We believe their contributions will be invaluable as we advance
our lead indication for imetelstat in lower risk MDS to Phase 3
clinical development and, in the future, begin preparations for the
potential commercialization of imetelstat.”
Dawn C. Bir currently serves as the Chief Commercial Officer of
Reata Pharmaceuticals, where she leads marketing, market access,
sales and commercial operations. Prior to Reata, Ms. Bir served as
Vice President of Sales with Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company,
where she built and led their first hematology national sales
organization responsible for the launch of IMBRUVICA, a
hematology-oncology product, in the United States and Puerto Rico.
Ms. Bir has also held sales and marketing roles at SKY
Pharmaceuticals Packaging, Inc. & Rx Pak, a unit within
McKesson Corporation; Genentech, a member of the Roche Group; and
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Ms. Bir holds a B.S. in Biology from
Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York.
Elizabeth G. O’Farrell most recently served as Chief Procurement
Officer and Head of Global Shared Services at Eli Lilly and
Company. Throughout her 24-year career with Eli Lilly, she held
several senior management positions in finance and corporate
governance, including: Senior Vice President, Policy and Finance;
Senior Vice President, Finance; Chief Financial Officer, Lilly USA;
Chief Financial Officer, Lilly Canada; and General Auditor. Before
joining Eli Lilly, Ms. O’Farrell was an accountant with Boise
Cascade Office Products, and served as an auditor at Whipple &
Company and Price Waterhouse. Ms. O’Farrell currently serves as a
member of the board of directors of PDL BioPharma, Inc. and on the
finance committee of the United Way of Brevard in Brevard County,
Florida. Ms. O’Farrell holds a B.S. in accounting and an M.B.A. in
management information systems, both from Indiana University in
Bloomington, Indiana.
About Imetelstat
Imetelstat is a novel, first-in-class telomerase inhibitor
exclusively owned by Geron and being developed in hematologic
myeloid malignancies. Early clinical data suggest imetelstat may
have disease-modifying activity through the suppression of
malignant progenitor cell clone proliferation, which allows
potential recovery of normal hematopoiesis. Ongoing clinical
studies of imetelstat include a Phase 2/3 trial called IMerge in
lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and a Phase 2 trial
called IMbark in Intermediate-2 or High-risk myelofibrosis.
Imetelstat has been granted Fast Track designation by the United
States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients
with transfusion-dependent anemia due to lower risk MDS who are
non-del(5q) and refractory or resistant to an erythroid stimulating
agent.
About Geron
Geron is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused
on the development and potential commercialization of a
first-in-class telomerase inhibitor, imetelstat, in hematologic
myeloid malignancies. For more information about Geron, visit
www.geron.com.
Use of Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, this
press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to
the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such statements,
include, without limitation, those regarding potential
disease-modifying activity of imetelstat, the potential
commercialization of imetelstat and other statements that are not
historical facts, constitute forward-looking statements. These
statements involve risks and uncertainties that can cause actual
results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties, include, without
limitation, risks and uncertainties related to: (i) whether
imetelstat is safe and efficacious, and whether any past or future
efficacy or safety results may cause the benefit-risk profile of
imetelstat to become unacceptable; (ii) whether imetelstat’s
activity is demonstrated to be disease-modifying; and (iii) whether
imetelstat is approved for commercialization by regulatory
authorities. Additional information on the above risks and
uncertainties and additional risks, uncertainties and factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements are contained in Geron’s periodic
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission under the heading “Risk Factors,” including Geron’s
annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2018. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, and the
facts and assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements may
change. Except as required by law, Geron disclaims any obligation
to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future
information, events or circumstances.
CONTACT:
Suzanne MessereInvestor and Media
Relationsinvestor@geron.commedia@geron.com
CG Capital877-889-1972
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