While we're waiting......you're hired !!!

[kmall]

For the better part of these past 3 years, we have witnessed Geron’s employee count grow exponentially since “severing” ties with Janssen. In the course of this time period Dr. Scarlett and Geron have practically tripled their employee base in an aggressive manner, not only exuding confidence, but setting the stage for Geron to become a leader in the Hematological Disorder space. Top tier talent from the Pharmaceutical Industry have flocked to Geron, filling key positions in roles contingent on the approval and eventual commercialization of Imetelstat.

A little over 25% (12 of 46) of these employees joining the Geron rank and file since October 2018 were previously employed at Janssen, with 10 of the 12 having come directly from. Of greater importance is that practically most, if not all of these employees were part of the Imetelstat Development Team during Geron’s tentative partnership agreement with Janssen. Two are now Geron Executives – Dr. Aleksandra Rizo – CMO, and Anil Kapur – CCO; while four others find themselves in pivotal Vice-Presidential roles within Geron’s hierarchy: Laurie Sherman – VP Clinical Operations, Faye Feller – VP Clinical Development, Ying Wan – VP Biostatistics and Sharon McBain – VP Regulatory. The fact that these 12 former Janssen employees are now under the Geron roof speaks volumes for Imetelstat as a potential disease modifying FIC Drug and Dr. John Scarlett as a business leader. Many of these individuals have migrated from a Pharmaceutical Powerhouse late in their careers to an up-and-coming Biotech with seemingly enormous potential. To most, this would be considered a risky move. However, if you had inside knowledge and firsthand experience of cutting-edge medical science, with efficacy and safety to match…...perhaps that risk has been mitigated. I guess that’s what we’re all here for?

Compiled here are several lists comprising of New Employees hired since Nov 2018 - Employees hired post 10/2018 who are no longer with Geron - and finally current Geron employees as of 10/3/2021 and their hiring dates – to the best of my knowledge of course. I’ve tried to categorize these employees as much as possible, however, a few could fall into more than one. A company’s employee base is constantly changing and in Geron’s case, still growing. As of now there are approximately 67 full-time employees, 2 part-time and 1 consultant still listed as being under the Geron umbrella. From my estimation there are most likely a half dozen recent hires yet to be announced, and if I recall correctly, Olivia Bloom – Geron CFO, had stated that approximately 85 employees would be necessary to fill company objectives. This leaves about 10 more positions needing to be occupied.

Most recently; Denise Meyer – Medical Affairs Leader – hired Aug- 2021 had her title upgrade to Vice President, Head of Medical Affairs after being revealed several weeks ago. I find this point interesting on more than one note. Was this “after the fact” upgrade intentional….in order to avoid a PR from the company? And more importantly it most likely shines a light on where future new hires within Geron will be concentrated – Marketing and Manufacturing. Her background is exemplary; having been previously employed with: Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Takeda Oncology, Amgen, Eli Lilly and Company, and Mount Sinai Hospital, amongst others. Some of her titles include:

Takeda – Senior Director, US Commercial (Baxalta/Shire)
Takeda – Senior Director, Head of New Product Planning*
Amgen – Executive Director, Global Commercial Leader
Amgen – Director, Global Oncology Marketing
Eli Lilly – Global New Product Planning Sr. Manager*

*Pay special attention to the “New Product” Planning roles

As a few others on Imetelstat message boards have pointed out, you hire certain individuals before they are needed within a company…...not after. The same goes for financing. You want both in place, so that when necessary to fill a void it’s already there. Her hiring is a giant step forward for Geron as a company looking to make a name for itself in an industry where many fall by the wayside. Getting as far as they have in these past 3 years has been an enormous accomplishment. Dr. Scarlett and this team have had an uphill battle and deserve the utmost respect for what they have achieved as of now. Being on the cusp of perhaps announcing additional indications and increasing their pipeline, really goes to show how focused and confident this team has become. Let’s all hope this truly becomes one November to remember. -Kmall


Geron: New Employees since November 2018 –
* - denotes former Janssen Employee

1. Nov 2018 - Damanjit Singh – Senior Manager, Quality Systems at Geron Corporation
Former Employers: Prothena, Gilead Sciences

2. Jan 2019 – Aleksandra Rizo* – Chief Medical Officer, Executive Vice President, Geron Corporation
Former Employers: Celgene, JNJ (Janssen)

3. Jan 2019 – Christopher Johnson – Associate Director, Legal Counsel, Geron Corporation
Former Employers: Voyage Biomedical, Bio-Rad Laboratories, USDA, US Navy (Commissioned Officer), Calypte
Biomedical, Mentor Heyer-Schulte, LifeNet, Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder

4. April 2019 – Denise Grippo – Vice President Quality at Geron Corporation
Former Employers: Iovance Biotherapeutics Inc, Xenoport Inc, Mylan, Validant, Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc,
Alovagen Inc/Norwich Pharmaceuticals Inc

5. April 2019 – Faye Feller* – Vice President, Clinical Development, Geron Corporation
Former Employers: Janssen, Memorial Sloan-Kettering

6. April 2019 – Laurie Sherman* – Vice President, Project Leadership and Clinical Operations, Geron Corporation
Former Employers: Janssen, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer

7. April 2019 - Souria Dougherty* – Executive Director, Clinical Science at Geron Corporation
Former Employers: Janssen, GlaxoSmithKline, Genmab

8. May 2019 – Ying Wan* – Vice President, Head of Biometrics and Data Management at Geron Corporation
Former Employers: Janssen, Merck and Co.

9. May 2019 – Patrick Murphy – Vice President of Manufacturing, Geron Corporation
Former Employers: Genentech, Omniox Inc, Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Versartis Inc, Maxygen, Solstice
Neuroscience, Diversified Bio-Medics Inc, Acologix, Abgenix Inc, Seal Cove Consulting

10. May 2019 – Lilly Huang, CPA – Corporate Controller, Executive Director, Geron Corporation
Former Employers: Montage Technology Inc., SOA Projects Inc., A Consulting Firm, Life Scan Inc.,
Varian Medical Systems, Hewlett Packard, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

......cont (11-46) Pt 2