Don't want to make waves

[Gwikley]

First and foremost let say how appreciative I am being able to listen to some very intelligent and thoughtful, (and knowledgeable) comments on this board. It is fresh air compared to the YMB or the STMB.
I only have one question. Does it appear to any here that Geron has over hired? Perhaps very prematurely. Filling positions that will have no real function (IMO) until there is some kind of approval of the drug. Meantime, I imagine, these folks are drawing salary and sitting on their hands. That, as a long, long holder of this stock, and seeing Geron go through 3 CEO's, none of which went on hiring sprees, wrankles me.

[Hoosier Investor]

You're not alone with your concern(s). We just hope that what we don't know (yet) justifies the hiring actions.

As I mentioned the other day, the fact they (we) are actively hiring for MULTIPLE "commercial" roles at this stage is a compelling & hard to ignore data point. At a minimum, the COO should have inside knowledge of P3 results (to date) along with visibility & authority over the job postings. Let's hope the recent batch of job postings are the result of strategic, coordinated, and informed decisions.

Further, we have company executives talking "disease modification" and "survival benefits". We have a significant number of key Janssen employees who came & stayed with Geron. We've had recent conference presentations highlighting our updated P2 data. We have some prominent doctors involved in the trials who are publicly expressing their optimism. We also have the FDA who (upon review of our P2 data) have allowed two P3 trials to commence & continue with our upcoming MDS P3 results being up against a placebo (not a competitive drug).

While we have various reasons to be optimistic, the anxiety is understood & deserved given all that's on the line.

[kmall]

Gwikley - Perhaps Dr. Scarlett and management are setting Geron up for a Bolt-on acquisition. Having all of the players and pieces in place would not only make a transition that much smoother, but would most likely "up" the asking price - if you will - in any negotiating towards a BO or partnership. While there does seem to be a few cart before the horse positions at the moment, having a team completely familiarized with Imetelstat prior to any approval or commercial launch is a benefit in any situation moving forward. -Kmall

[ashah]

All
This is not an accurate sentiment in my opinion.
Assume that this is a $365 M dollar revenue molecule. This means even a day delay is a million dollar impact. Furthermore if the message - commercial or marketing or same or payer/ value e.t.c is sub-optimal, the long term impact is high. And heavens forbid, if the regulatory submission package is suboptimal, more painful and erosion of value.
I have been very fortunate to be in ther launch planning of a molecule, and I for one rather over spend and be over resourced than under at this stage...

Of course none of these matter... we are just few days from TLR!

[biopearl123]

Ashah, I found your post very “real world” and frankly eye opening (and quite reassuring). Thank you for that. Best Wishes and Happy New Year. Any luck helping DL76 get registered? bp

[kmall]

Ashah - while I completely agree with the adages of "you get what you pay for" and "it takes money to make money" there is no doubt that this company could have curtailed spending to a certain extent. I'm sorry, but "feel good" seminars and retreats for well seasoned professionals who are very well compensated financially as it is, aren't necessary in my view at this time. There is also an overlap in several positions that I would also question. Geron only has a little over 100 employees, is it really necessary to have 2 Talent Acquisition positions now? Perhaps. Again, I'm not an insider, so maybe they are inundated with resumes to the point that it is a necessity. They also hired a Director of Supply Chain Management in the UK last January. Imetelstat has yet to even be approved. Perhaps Geron had planned on submitting an NDA for the UK MHRA sooner, but as of now that position also seems at minimum 6months or more premature. These little things do add up, and as you pointed out, it is better to over spend at this juncture then skimp, but with that also comes discipline and focus. Long term investors have stood by this company through some very challenging times. Let's hope that management considers that before signing off on exorbitant bonuses for a job that is basically just their job in the first place. -Kmall