Geron Study Supports Use Of Stem Cells In Cancer Vaccines

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Geron Corp. (GERN) Monday released a study supporting the using stem cells in making vaccines to fight cancer and other diseases.

It said the study shows cells that trigger immunity responses that are manufactured from human embryonic stem cells showed the normal functions of the same cells that are produced naturally in the bloodstream. Substituting the stem-cell version for the current approach of using the so-called dendritic cells obtained from individual patients may be a more cost-effective and reliable way to treat cancer.

Geron's shares were recently up 2% at $7.80 in premarket trading.

Dendritic cells are immune cells that detect viruses or bacteria and activate T-cells - other immune cells - to start an immune response. Dendritic cells live in small numbers in most tissues, especially where there is contact with the external environment, such as the skin. They digest pathogens and present antigens on the cell surface, activating the T-cell immune response against that pathogen, the company said. The cells can also teach the immune system to launch an immune response against cells that shouldn't be in the body, such as tumor cells.

Geron noted the study showed immature dendritic cells made from embroynic stem cells are able to follow the same process.

The company said it's working on a cancer vaccine that will use the stem cells to make a reliable product that is free from the variation seen in many patients because of the effects of their disease and previous treatments.

Geron last week agreed to provide stem cells to General Electric Co.'s (GE) GE Healthcare for use in tools that test drug treatments for their toxic effects on the body, particularly in the heart and liver.

In January, Geron got clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the first-ever human trial of a medical treatment derived from embryonic stem cells.

-By Kerry Grace Benn, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2353; [e-mail]