Geron Reports Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)

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Geron Corporation (GERN) has granted non-statutory stock options to newly hired employees, totaling 895,930 shares, with an exercise price of $1.92 per share. The options have a 10-year term, vesting over four years, and were granted as material inducement to employment in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN), a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company, today reported that it has granted non-statutory stock options to purchase an aggregate of 895,930 shares of Geron common stock as inducements to newly hired employees in connection with commencement of employment with the Company.

The stock options were granted on January 17, 2024, at an exercise price of $1.92 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Geron common stock on the date of grant. Stock options representing an aggregate of 873,000 shares have a 10-year term and vest over four years, with 12.5% of the shares underlying the options vesting on the six-month anniversary of commencement of employment for the respective employees and the remaining shares vesting over the following 42 months in equal installments of whole shares, subject to continued employment with Geron through the applicable vesting dates. Stock options representing an aggregate of 22,930 shares have a 10-year term and vest in full upon achievement of a certain regulatory milestone, subject to continued employment with Geron through the applicable vesting date. All of the stock options were granted as material inducement to employment in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) and are subject to the terms and conditions of the stock option agreements covering the grants and Geron’s 2018 Inducement Award Plan, which was adopted December 14, 2018, and provides for the granting of stock options to new employees.

About Geron

Geron is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company pursuing therapies with the potential to extend and enrich the lives of patients living with hematologic malignancies. Our first-in-class investigational telomerase inhibitor, imetelstat, harnesses Nobel Prize-winning science in a treatment that may alter the underlying drivers of disease. The New Drug Application (NDA) for imetelstat for the treatment of transfusion dependent anemia in adult patients with lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes (LR MDS) who have failed to respond or have lost response to or are ineligible for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), based on the results from the Phase 3 IMerge clinical trial, is currently under review by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date of June 16, 2024. In addition, an MAA is under review in the European Union for the same proposed indication. Furthermore, Geron currently has an ongoing pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating imetelstat in relapsed/refractory myelofibrosis (MF). To learn more, visit www.geron.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240118911166/en/

Aron Feingold

Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

Kristen Kelleher

Senior Manager, Investor Relations

investor@geron.com

media@geron.com

Source: Geron Corporation

FAQ

How many shares of Geron common stock were granted as stock options?

895,930 shares were granted as stock options.

What is the exercise price of the stock options?

The exercise price is $1.92 per share.

What is the vesting period for the stock options?

The options have a 10-year term and vest over four years.

Why were the stock options granted?

The stock options were granted as material inducement to employment in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

What is the ticker symbol for Geron Corporation?

The ticker symbol is GERN.