NEW YORK, April 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against Geron Corporation ("Geron" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: GERN ) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Northern District of California and docketed under 14-cv-01424, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Geron between June 16, 2013 and March 11, 2014, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"). This class action seeks to recover damages against the Company and certain of its officers and directors as a result of alleged violations of the federal securities laws pursuant to Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Geron securities during the Class Period, you have until May 13, 2014, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, x237. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.
Geron is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a first-in-class telomerase inhibitor, imetelstat, in hematologic myeloid malignancies.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements, and failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, prospects and performance. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: (1) that persistent low-grade LFT abnormalities had been observed in the Phase 2 study of imetelstat in ET/PV patients; (2) that there was a potential risk of chronic liver injury following long-term exposure to imetelstat; and (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company and the prospects for imetelstat lacked any reasonable basis and/or were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On March 12, 2014, Geron disclosed that it had received verbal notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the "FDA") that its Investigational New Drug ("IND") application for imetelstat had been placed on full clinical hold, affecting all ongoing Company sponsored clinical trials. A full clinical hold is an order that the FDA issues to a trial sponsor to suspend an ongoing clinical trial or delay a proposed trial. According to the Company, the FDA indicated that the clinical hold was due to the occurrence of persistent low-grade liver function test ("LFT") abnormalities observed in the Phase 2 study of imetelstat in ET/PV patients and the potential risk of chronic liver injury following long-term exposure to imetelstat. Also, Geron disclosed that the FDA expressed concern about whether these LFT abnormalities were reversible. As a result, Geron informed investors that the clinical hold would affect the remaining eight patients in the Company's Phase 2 study in essential thrombocythemia ("ET") or polycythemia vera ("PV"), and the remaining two patients in the company's Phase 2 study in multiple myeloma. Also, the Company indicated that a planned Phase 2 clinical trial in myelofibrosis would likely be delayed due to the clinical hold.
On this news, shares of Geron declined $2.71 per share, over 61%, to close at $1.69 per share on March 12, 2014.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and San Diego, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 70 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members.
Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP
