Geron (GERN) Reports Research on Cardiac Function in Infarcted Rats for Geron's Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Based Therapeutic for Heart Failure

June 19, 2007 7:41 AM EDT

Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN) reported that research documenting the scalable production, survival following engraftment and positive impact on cardiac function in infarcted rats was presented today for GRNCM1, the company\'s human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-based therapeutic for heart failure, at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Annual Meeting in Cairns, Australia.

The results of work performed in collaboration with Drs. Charles Murry and Michael Laflamme at the University of Washington were presented by Dr. Joseph Gold, Geron\'s director of stem cell biology. The presentation described efficient differentiation of cardiomyocytes from hESCs and their effectiveness in preventing the onset of heart failure in rodent infarct models. In the differentiation procedure, cardiomyocytes were generated using non-conditioned, serum-free media and a directed differentiation protocol that produces cells with the phenotypic, electrophysiological and contractile properties of human immature cardiomyocytes. The new protocol produces cardiomyocytes with high efficiency, yielding 10-100 fold more cardiomyocytes per undifferentiated hESC than conventional "embryoid body-based" protocols. The differentiation protocol produced cardiomyocyte populations of up to 70% purity at scales sufficient to enable both preclinical and early clinical development. Moreover, the final cardiomyocyte product could be cryopreserved and thawed with high viability.

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