Geron Corp. inks agreement for therapeutic cancer-vaccine technology.

2004 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Geron Corp. (GERN) and Merix Bioscience, Inc., have executed an agreement under which Geron has acquired the exclusive right to use Merix's platform technology in therapeutic cancer vaccines using the enzyme telomerase as an antigen.

That combination of technologies is used in a phase I/II clinical trial currently under way at Duke University Medical Center.

Under the agreement, Geron also obtained co-exclusive rights to use the Merix platform technology in cancer vaccines using other defined antigens, while Merix retains co-exclusive rights to use the platform technology with defined antigens other than telomerase and exclusive rights to use it with total tumor RNA and other uncharacterized antigens. In addition, the companies have agreed to a cross-licensing arrangement with respect to new technology in the field - enabling both companies to pursue and share further technological developments. Except for payments that flow through to third-party academic licensors, the license acquired by Geron is fully paid up. Under the agreement, Geron issued 5 million shares of its common stock to Merix.

Representatives of both companies cite the agreement as a positive step toward advancement of cancer therapies.

"During 2003, Geron announced positive results from the Duke phase I/II clinical trial using the Merix platform technology in combination with our patented telomerase technology," said Thomas B. Okarma, PhD, MD, Geron's president and CEO. "We believe telomerase is a very important universal and specific cancer target, and the Merix platform technology for charging dendritic cells to present antigens and provoke an immune response is an outstanding vaccine platform. This transaction allows us to go forward with development of these two technologies in combination."

"We are certainly excited by the trial results at Duke that have been reported," said Clint G. (Skip) Dederick, Jr., chairman and CEO of Merix Bioscience. "This is strong validation of our platform technology and very encouraging as we begin our initial corporate clinical trial using total tumor RNA in metastatic renal cell carcinoma in North America. Our agreement with Geron allows for further development and bodes well for future benefits resulting from both companies' technologies and further research efforts."

Merix holds licenses to several patent families, including one for treating cancer and other diseases using antigen-presenting cells loaded with RNA encoding relevant tumor antigens, and another for the ex-vivo generation of mature ...