Geron discontinues GRN1005 to concentrate on imetelstat; will cut jobs

California, USA-based Geron Corp (Nasdaq: GERN), which scrapped its stem cell business a year ago to focuses on cancer treatments, tumbled 28% to $1.07 yesterday morning, after it said that it has discontinued development of GRN1005, its peptide-drug conjugate designed to treat cancers in the brain.

Going forward, the company will focus on the development of imetelstat, its telomerase inhibitor, in hematologic myeloid malignancies and in patients with solid tumors that have short telomeres.

The company also announced a restructuring to reduce its workforce from 107 positions to 64 full-time posts, and to reduce its annual cash operating expenses from around $65 million in 2012 to about $33 million in 2013, which includes non-recurring costs of about $3 million associated with the restructuring and around $3 million for the discontinuation of clinical trials. The company expects to end 2012 with some $90 million in cash and investments.