50 New Positions Posted Today.........

[kmall]

50 New positions posted today - From Seattle to Miami, and everywhere in-between - all "Oncology Key Account Managers".........looks like something is brewing? -Kmall


https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/def ... lang=en_US

[rccola335]

one step closer to revenue

[LWS]

EAP and NDA

The FDA has a continuing database of information from the EAP (one form of FDA approval). Also, there are no medical negatives that are serious enough or important enough to slowdown the process now. It appears that the FDA (ODAC) has already decided on approval of the NDA. Certainly, Geron must think so, with this level of hiring. Patient's needs are in focus.

[biopearl123]

Wow, that’s a lot of positions. I think these positions are basically for “drug reps” who will call on doctors, hospitals and pharmacists. There are 50 of them. One person can not cover an entire state or other widely defined geography, especially if “50%” of the time they are traveling. Geron is building the sales force we have been anticipating for a long time and identified (obviously) as the marker for impending approval/sales. (OK, define “impending”.) They are going to have to divide sales responsibilities further at some point because no one person can cover the geography outlined in the job descriptions. It is not impossible that the salaries posted do not allow for additional bonuses based on sales quotas which as we know can be very slippery but nonetheless are sometimes used as a yardstick to award field performance in the pharma industry. Anyway, things seem to be moving along, eh?

[rccola335]

my guess - after these people are hired and given their options we will see the stock price rise

[Zhears]

Once all those salespeople are hired, that's a massive overhead that will eat into gerons cash very quickly.

JS has shown repeatedly that he likes to keep the war chest full, so I think we can expect more dilution in the short term to fund them.
I had been hoping that a buyout would come before these hires and whichever big pharma's sales force would be used instead.
I'm doubting that now, but that is probably just self-delusion.

Still, it's a massive step forward and should be cheered.

Current short-term prediction. They annouce an ex-us partner in the next few weeks, share prices rockets briefly, then gets shorted through the floor and we all wait until the first financial report that includes sales(Q1 2025?). Approval will be far less exciting than we hope for. Thus the tea leaves predicts, well, looking at the open options anyway.

[kmall]

Zhears - These 50 New positions with a salary in the $175-185,000 range translates to approx $9-10M/yr. While a fairly sizeable amount, it pales in comparison to the approx $200M/yr current burn rate. As shareholders let's all hope we get a partnership at some point in the very near future. I think your assessment as to where this is heading for us is spot on. Management is quite comfortable giving themselves pay raises, collecting substantial paychecks and bonuses while the SP is down about 40% this past year. The minute this hits $4 I'll be cashing in 2/3rds and letting the rest ride on a mercy roll. -Kmall

[biopearl123]

Kmall, agree. Geron could support this sales force for 5 years with just the extra burden imposed by the FDA delay.

[Zhears]

Kmall, I would suggest that the cost for a sales force is far more than just the wages. All the other costs come along with them. Travel, IT, fat lunch budgets to wine and dine in posh locations, sales pitches which just HAVE to be held at expensive golf courses, all expenses paid. Isn't that the way these things work?

I have only known 1 surgeon as a friend and 1 salesperson in pharma, and the view given is the above.

[huntingonthebluffs]

Back in my management days, we estimated an employee’s benefits cost 30-35% of their salaries (e.g. medical, 401k/retirement, etc.)

[kmall]

Sidenote on most/all of the latest hires the past two months...... they're all coming directly from positions at Big Pharma - Novartis, Incyte, Jazz, Bristol Meyers - just to name a few. -Kmall

[kmall]

For whatever it's worth, 49 of the 50 "Oncology Key Account Manager" positions have been taken down. The only one left standing is out of Jackson, MS.

https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/def ... lang=en_US

Geron is easily closing in on 200 employees, if they haven't exceeded that number already. Considering their first estimate in 2019 of 85-95 employees needed for commercialization, I'd say this company is merely waiting for the starting gate to open at this point. -Kmall