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Didn't GERON recently end it's liscensing agreement with the University of Wisconsin? The company is now liscensing work of Dr. Gearhart at Johns Hopkins - currently focusing on "transplanting functional cells derived from the hEG cells into animal models of disease in order to restore tissue function... Geron's Regenerative Medicine business unit is developing such cell-based therapies for..." Parkinson's and other chronic diseases. FROM: BIOTECH BUSINESS February, 2002 SECTION: No. 2, Vol. 15 HEADLINE: GERON GRANTED U.S. PATENT FOR EMBRYONIC GERM CELLS " Geron Corporation (Nasdaq:GERN), Menlo Park, Calif., has announced that the U.S. Patent Office has issued Patent No. 6,331,406, with claims directed to the use of human embryonic germ cells in drug screening assays. The patent is licensed exclusively to Geron from Johns Hopkins University. Geron is the exclusive licensee of the work of Dr. John Gearhart at Johns Hopkins that led to the successful isolation of human embryonic germ (hEG) cells. Like human embryonic stem (hES) cells, hEG cells are pluripotent, meaning that they are capable of developing into all cell types in the human body. The hEG cells are now being developed at Johns Hopkins with Geron funding for a variety of therapeutic and research applications. "This is the third U.S. patent to issue out of Dr. Gearhart's work on the hEG cells," noted David J. Earp, J.D., Ph.D., Geron's vice president of intellectual property. "The two prior patents cover the hEG cells themselves and methods of propagating them. The patent issued today is specifically directed to use of the hEG cells for drug screening. Our current portfolio of pluripotent stem cell intellectual property includes more than 50 patent applications pending around the world covering many aspects of cell growth, scale-up and differentiation into various clinically relevant cell types." The research that Geron is currently funding in Dr. Gearhart's laboratory is focused on transplanting functional cells derived from the hEG cells into animal models of disease in order to restore tissue function. Several disease conditions may be amenable to treatment with cells that are manufactured from hES or hEG cells, including Parkinson's disease, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, liver disease and heart disease. Geron's Regenerative Medicine business unit is developing such cell-based therapies for these and other chronic diseases. Geron's R & D Technologies business unit is focused on producing human cells for large scale screening of drug candidates for drug discovery as well as toxicity and metabolism analyses. Cells such as hepatocytes, cardiomyocytes and neural cells that Geron would manufacture from hES or hEG cells could be produced in large, uniform lot sizes for use by pharmaceutical companies across the entire drug discovery and development process. About Geron Corporation Geron is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutic and diagnostic products for applications in oncology and regenerative medicine, and research tools for drug discovery. Geron's product development programs are based upon three patented core technologies: telomerase, human embryonic stem cells and nuclear transfer." For more information, http://www.geron.com or call 650/473-7765. LOAD-DATE: January 17, 2002 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn