37. GERON: www.geron.com

Geron is a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing three groups of products: i) therapeutic products for oncology that target telomerase; ii) pharmaceuticals that activate telomerase in tissues impacted by senescence, injury or degenerative disease; and iii) cell-based therapies derived from its human embryonic stem cell platform for applications in multiple chronic diseases. Telomerase is an enzyme that is expressed in nearly all cancer cells, but not in most normal cells. We hope to kill cancer cells in which telomerase is abnormally expressed by inhibiting or targeting telomerase, and to diagnose cancer by measuring telomerase activity. We are also working to develop product candidates to treat various degenerative diseases by the controlled activation of telomerase. Human embryonic stem cells can develop and differentiate into all cells and tissues in the body. As such, they are a potential source for the manufacture of replacement cells and tissues for organ repair applications in chronic diseases.