Geron's Steadfast Optimism
Yesterday at the annual biotechnology industry convention, the CEO of the company hoping to develop the first products from human embryonic stem cell research said that he expects the first clinical trials to begin around June of this year. We've highlighted Geron's Thomas Okarma 's habit of promising these clinical trials "next year" in every year since 2004. What's surprising about his advancing the date to just a few months from now is that the timing is completely out of his hands. Geron has submitted the application to the US Food and Drug Administration to test human embryonic stem cells in 40 patients with spinal cord injuries. The ball is now in court of the federal government.
Does Okarma really believe that the feds will so quickly turn around the first application for human testing of an entirely new method of medicine, a technique that has a track record of producing cancer in lab animals? I consider myself lucky if my 1040EZ gets processed in a few months. An analyst in the CNN story is quoted as saying, "This is the first time that a human embryonic stem cell application is being submitted to the FDA, so there's a good chance that some questions will arise." That's putting it mildly.
Investors appear to be skeptical as well. Geron's stock value is up only 2% for the day. That will do little to compensate for the dramatic fall it's taken over the last year, in which it lost nearly half its value.
Previously on Biopolitical Times: