Scimitar Equity Blog

Geron (GERN) is starting several Phase 2 trials involving its experimental telomerase inhibitor, imetelstat.  GERN plans to initiate 4 Phase 2 clinical trials of imetelstat in 2010.

• 2 randomized trials in non-small cell lung cancer and breast cancer, 
• 2 single arm trials in multiple myeloma and essential thrombocythemia.

The trials will focus on non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer and two single arm trials in multiple myeloma and essential thrombocythemia,

• The randomized Phase 2 trial in non-small cell lung cancer will examine the impact of imetelstat on progression-free survival when used in the maintenance setting, after remission-induction by first line chemotherapy.
• The randomized Phase 2 trial in breast cancer will examine the effect on progression-free survival achieved by adding imetelstat to the first line chemotherapy combination of paclitaxel and bevacizumab,
• These studies plan to enroll over 250 patients in up to 70 US medical centers.

“The data presented at AACR by Geron and our collaborators once again highlight the importance of telomerase as a cancer stem cell target and the broad anti-cancer stem cell properties of imetelstat in preclinical models,” said Stephen M. Kelsey, MD, GERN’s executive vice president and chief medical officer, oncology.

A series of preclinical study results showing efficacy of imetelstat against cancer stem cells from multiple tumor types were presented by Geron scientists and collaborators.  

• Preclinical studies have shown that in 9 out of 9 tumor types tested, imetelstat exhibits potent activity against cancer stem cells derived from primary patient samples or cancer cell lines, 
•  Imetelstat inhibited cancer stem cell proliferation, clonogenic capacity and spheroid formation in vitro and significantly reduced the establishment and growth of tumors in xenograft models,
• This data provide strong rationale for the clinical use of imetelstat to target cancer stem cells in multiple tumor types.

 Cancer stem cells are small populations of cells within tumors believed to be responsible for initiating tumor growth, recurrence and metastasis. Cancer stem cells are capable of indefinite self-renewal because of high telomerase activity, and can differentiate into all malignant cells found in a particular tumor type. Cancer stem cells often show resistance to standard therapies resulting in renewed proliferation and differentiation, leading to disease relapse.