Geron Reports Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4) For Hires
Geron Corporation Reports Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)
Geron Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, today officially reported that, effective April 17, 2026, it granted stock options to purchase an aggregate of 855,000 shares of common stock. These options were awarded to nine newly hired employees as an essential inducement material to such employees’ acceptance of employment with Geron.
Details of the Stock Option Grants
The granted stock options have an exercise price of $1.68 per share, which is exactly equal to the closing price of Geron’s common stock on the official grant date. The options have a standard ten-year term and vest over a period of four years. Specifically, 12.5% of the shares underlying the options will vest on the six-month anniversary of the commencement of employment for each respective employee. The remaining shares will continue vesting over the following 42 months in equal monthly installments of whole shares, strictly subject to continued employment with Geron through the applicable vesting dates.
These equity awards were officially granted by the Compensation Committee of Geron’s Board of Directors in strict accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). Furthermore, they are completely subject to the established terms and conditions of Geron’s 2018 Inducement Award Plan and the standard form of stock option agreement utilized under the plan.
About Geron and RYTELO® (imetelstat)
Geron is a dedicated commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to significantly change lives by profoundly changing the course of blood cancer. Our first-in-class telomerase inhibitor, RYTELO® (imetelstat), is currently approved in both the United States and the European Union for the targeted treatment of certain adult patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes who suffer from transfusion-dependent anemia.
In addition to approved indications, we are also actively conducting a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of imetelstat focused on JAK-inhibitor relapsed/refractory myelofibrosis, as well as several other crucial studies in varying hematologic malignancies. By therapeutically inhibiting telomerase activity—which is abnormally increased in malignant stem and progenitor cells located within the bone marrow—the treatment aims to potentially reduce rapid proliferation and induce the death of malignant cells.
