StemCells finds early data from spinal cord injury trial promising

StemCells CEO Martin McGlynn.

Early data from an early-stage trial in spinal cord patients by StemCells Inc. indicated that two of three patients with the worst kind of spinal cord injuries started recovering feeling. The Newark company (NASDAQ: STEM), which is developing human neural stem cells, is the first to report data from a stem cells trial in spinal cord injuries, a spokeswoman said.

Former Geron CFO gets $750K severance, $400-an-hour consulting gig

Longtime Geron Corp. employee David Greenwood, who served as interim CEO for seven months last year, received a lump sum severance payment of $750,000 and a two- to five-month consulting deal that will pay him $400 an hour.
Greenwood, who had been with Geron (NASDAQ: GERN) in various jobs since 1995, left the Menlo Park-based drug development company at the end of last year. He was appointed interim CEO on the departure of Thomas Okarma in February 2011.

Geron hires new CFO after awarding bonus to outgoing CFO

A second Geron Corp. executive who had received a six-figure 2011 bonus late last month has left the drug-development company.
Menlo Park-based Geron (NASDAQ: GERN) said Thursday that it hired Graham Cooper as chief financial officer and executive vice president of finance and business development. Cooper most recently was chief financial officer at Orexigen Therapeutics.
Cooper replaces David Greenwood, who also served as president and, for seven months last year, interim chief executive officer. When John Scarlett was named CEO in September, Geron said that Greenwood would remain with the company through the end of the year.

Geron exec leaves with severance, consulting package

Jane Lebkowski, one of four Geron Corp. executives to pull down six-figure bonuses late last month, left the company Dec. 31 with $368,500 in severance pay, 12 months of health care coverage and an extension on exercisable stock options.
Lebkowski, the Menlo Park-based company’s chief scientific officer, also entered into a two- to five-month consulting agreement with Geron (NASDAQ: GERN) that will pay $400 per hour, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Slideshow: Best Bay Area life sciences CEOs of 2011

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — slow news days that translate into “10 Best …” stories and other such lists summarizing the previous 12 months or predicting what’s going to happen during the next 12.
So, here’s my list of the best life sciences CEOs in the Bay Area. It’s a purely subjective undertaking, heavily weighted toward CEOs who managed through all or part of a year of adversity.

Four Geron execs split more than $600K in cash bonuses

Geron Corp., which last month pulled out of the stem cell business, awarded four executives more than $600,000 in cash bonuses.

What Geron's stem cells exit means. (It ain't good)

Geron Corp.’s dismantling of its stem cell research on Monday puts the pressure on companies trying to discover or develop drugs by tapping into the cells that make us what we are.
Geron may have been trying to do too much too soon, but the real issue is that human embryonic stem cell drug development clearly was costing too much money for a publicly held company (NASDAQ: GERN).
That’s a shame in many ways. After all, Menlo Park-based Geron was in stem cells before stem cells were cool from a commercial point of view — not that they are more hip now. By being one of the first to harness embryonic stem cells as a potential treatment, it blazed a trail, enduring a Food and Drug Administration hold on its trial in acute spinal cord injuries.

Stem cell pioneer Geron to focus on cancer, cut 66 jobs

Pioneering stem cell drug developer Geron Corp. said it will axe 66 jobs, halt its stem cell R&D programs and seek buyers for those assets.
The Menlo Park company (NASDAQ: GERN) said it will concentrate on cancer treatments that could produce milestone events over the next 20 months. While researchers stress the promise of stem cells, treatments using embryonic stem cells could be several years in the future.

Chip Scarlett's skills may pay off — again — at Geron

A lot of biotech executives may be underwater in terms of their stock options, but new Geron Corp. CEO Chip Scarlett takes underwater to an extreme.
Scarlett is well known around the Bay Area biotech world for his 25-year career, including stints at the helm of Tercica Inc. and Proteolix Inc. Both companies scored big buyout deals, and Scarlett swam on to help South San Francisco startup Vega Therapeutics.
Scarlett might be equally well known for his stunning underwater photography. His work has appeared in Outside, Scuba Diver and Nature’s Best Magazine, to name a few.

Geron, StemCells trials tackle different approaches to spinal cord injuries

Two groundbreaking spinal cord trials led by Bay Area companies, both of which hit milestones in September, could make or break commercial stem cell therapies.
Although the trials are different in many ways, both are closely watched by stem cell advocates and opponents and could have implications for California’s stem cell research funding agency.

Geron hires John 'Chip' Scarlett as new CEO

Geron Corp. said Thursday its board of directors has named John Scarlett as its new chief executive officer and to its board of directors.
Scarlett was previously the CEO of biotechnology Proteolix, which was acquired by Onyx Pharmaceuticals in November 2009 for $276 million.

StemCells Inc. treats 1st spinal cord patient with neural stem cells

Neural stem cells developed by Newark’s StemCells Inc. were transplanted Wednesday into a spinal cord injury patient, the first person treated in a Phase I/II trial.
The procedure, led by Dr. Raphael Guzman, a neurosurgeon and Stanford University faculty member, was performed at Balgrist University Hospital at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.

1st Californian enrolls in Geron stem cell trial in spinal cord injuries

The Stanford University School of Medicine and the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center enrolled the first Californian — and fourth person overall — in a clinical trial using embryonic stem cells to treat recent spinal cord injuries.
The experimental treatment, developed by Menlo Park-based Geron Corp. (NASDAQ: GERN), is meant to test the safety of the cells in up to 10 people at seven trial sites in the United States. It is the first clinical study using cells from human embryonic stem cells approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Stem cells heading somewhere in a gift basket

A reverse merger between VistaGen Therapeutics and Excalibur Enterprises slaps a bow on a Jekyll-and-Hyde month for the stem cell industry. Who is Excalibur? Another stem cell company? A group of Arthurian-minded investors expecting to pull stem cells from the Wall Street stone? None of the above.

Geron spinal cord stem cell trial enrolls 2nd patient

Geron Corp., which last week won a $25 million loan from California’s stem cell research funding agency for a spinal cord injury trial, has recruited the second patient into that study.
The first Food and Drug Administration-approved trial using embryonic stem cells in humans enrolled its second patient, researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago reportedly said Tuesday.

Seeking to slow cash burn, StemCells lays off 20 people

StemCells Inc. will cut 30 percent of its workforce — about 20 full-time people — as it tries to advance its neural stem cell treatment through trials in spinal cord injury and a number of other diseases.
The company (NASDAQ: STEM) said the job cuts should save about $2.3 million annually. That is on top of reduced costs for cell manufacturing, saving about $1.1 million annually, and its move this summer from Palo Alto to smaller, cheaper space in Newark that will save about $1 million annually, President and CEO Martin McGlynn said in a conference call with analysts Wednesday afternoon.

Geron lands $25M from CIRM for spinal cord stem cell trial

California’s stem cell research funding agency is paying for its first human clinical trial, awarding $25 million to Geron Corp. for the early phase of a spinal cord injury trial, the first FDA-approved clinical study using cells from human embryonic stem cells.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s board voted Wednesday to approve the award, which CIRM Chairman Bob Klein called “a landmark step.”

StemCells starts spinal cord injury trial

StemCells Inc. has started a trial — the first ever using neural stem cells — in patients with chronic spinal cord injury.
The Palo Alto company (NASDAQ: STEM) said its Phase I/II trial will consist of 12 patients with chest-level spinal cord injury receiving direct transplants of human neural stem cells into their spinal cords.

Ex-CEO Thomas Okarma departing Geron with $1.3 million, consulting deal, stock

Former Geron Corp. President and CEO Thomas Okarma could receive up to $1.3 million, including $802,500 in severance pay, according to an agreement with the Menlo Park-based developer of stem cell treatments.

Geron CEO Okarma resigns