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

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Geron (GERN) reported granting non-statutory stock options to purchase 243,000 shares of Geron common stock as inducements to newly hired employees. The options were granted at an exercise price of $3.68 per share and have a 10-year term, vesting over four years. The options were granted in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) and Geron's 2018 Inducement Award Plan.

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 243,000 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 April 17, 2024, at an exercise price of $3.68 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Geron common stock on the date of grant. The stock options 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. All of the stock options were granted as a 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/20240418597034/en/

Aron Feingold

Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

Kristen Kelleher

Associate Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

investor@geron.com

media@geron.com

Source: Geron Corporation

FAQ

How many shares of Geron common stock were granted as inducements to newly hired employees?

Geron granted 243,000 shares of Geron common stock as inducements to newly hired employees.

What is the exercise price of the stock options granted by Geron?

The exercise price of the stock options granted by Geron is $3.68 per share.

Under what Nasdaq listing rule were the stock options granted?

The stock options were granted under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) by Geron.

What is the term of the stock options granted by Geron?

The stock options granted by Geron have a 10-year term.

How do the stock options vest for the newly hired employees?

The stock options vest over four years, with 12.5% of the shares vesting on the six-month anniversary of employment and the remaining shares vesting over the following 42 months.