GERON CORPORATION (NASDAQ:GERN) Files An 8-K Other EventsItem 8.01 Other Events.
As previously reported in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on March 3, 2017, Geron Corporation (the “Company”) entered into a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement (the “Stipulation”) and related documents to resolve the consolidated class action securities lawsuit captioned In re Geron Corporation Securities Litigation, Case No. 3:14-cv-01224-CRB (the “Securities Class Action”), pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of the State of California (the “California District Court”).
On July 21, 2017, following the final fairness hearing regarding the proposed settlement, the California District Court entered an order and final judgment that: (i) dismisses with prejudice the claims asserted in the Securities Class Action against all named defendants in connection with the Securities Class Action, including the Company, and releases any claims that were or could have been asserted that arise from or relate to the facts alleged in the Securities Class Action, such that every member of the settlement class will be barred from asserting such claims in the future; and (ii) approves the payment of the $6.25 million cash settlement fund, minus the payment of attorneys’ fees and costs to plaintiff’s counsel, to members of the settlement class. The Company’s insurance providers funded $6.0 million of the cash settlement fund and the Company paid the remaining $250,000. The settlement does not constitute any admission of fault or wrongdoing by the Company or any of the individual defendants.
Five stockholders opted out of the settlement class in the Securities Class Action. The Company does not expect to make any additional payments for and does not expect, and is not aware of, any additional claims arising from or related to the facts alleged in the Securities Class Action and asserted by stockholders who have opted out of the settlement class in the Securities Class Action.
Use of Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, this Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements made to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K regarding: (i) as a result of the settlement, members of the settlement class will be barred from asserting any claims in the future that were or could have been asserted that arise from or relate to the facts alleged in the Securities Class Action; (ii) the Company not expecting any claims arising from or relating to the facts alleged in the Securities Class Action to be asserted by any of the stockholders who have opted out of the settlement class; (iii) the Company not expecting to make any additional payments for any such claims; and (iv) any other statements that are not historical facts, constitute forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties, include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties related to: (i) any stockholders who have opted out of the settlement class pursuing claims that arise from or relate to the facts alleged in the Securities Class Action causing the Company to make additional payments, or incur additional liabilities, related to such claims; and (ii) the settlement not having the expected impact, including resolving the Securities Class Action. Additional information and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are contained in the Company’s periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission under the heading “Risk Factors,” including in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K, and the facts and assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements may change. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future information, events or circumstances.
About GERON CORPORATION (NASDAQ:GERN)
Geron Corporation (Geron) is a biopharmaceutical company, which supports the clinical stage development of a telomerase inhibitor, Imetelstat, in hematologic myeloid malignancies by Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen). The Company operates through the segment, which includes discovery and development of therapeutic products for oncology. Imetelstat is a lipid conjugated 13-mer oligonucleotide that is designed to be complementary to and bind with high affinity to the ribonucleic acid (RNA) template of telomerase, thereby directly inhibiting telomerase activity. Imetelstat exhibits relatively preferential inhibition of the clonal proliferation of malignant progenitor cells in nonclinical studies. Janssen is engaged in the development of Imetelstat with over two clinical trials, such as a Phase II trial in myelofibrosis (MF), referred to as IMbark, and a Phase II/III trial in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) referred to as IMerge.
