FOSTER CITY, Calif., July 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN), a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, today reported that it granted an equity award in the form of a stock option to purchase 1,700,000 shares of Geron common stock to Chinmaya Rath, Geron’s new Chief Business Officer, as an inducement material to his acceptance of employment with Geron.

The stock option was granted on July 13, 2026. The stock option has an exercise price of $1.42 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Geron’s common stock on the grant date, has a ten-year term and vests over four years, with 12.5% of the shares underlying the option vesting on the six-month anniversary of commencement of his employment and the remaining shares vesting over the following 42 months in equal installments of whole shares, subject to continued service with Geron through the applicable vesting dates.

The stock option grant was approved by the Compensation Committee of Geron’s Board of Directors in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) and is subject to the terms and conditions of Geron’s 2018 Inducement Award Plan and the form of stock option agreement under that plan.

About Geron

Geron is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to change lives by changing the course of blood cancer. Our first-in-class telomerase inhibitor RYTELO^® (imetelstat) is approved in the United States and the European Union for the treatment of certain adult patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes with transfusion dependent anemia. We are also conducting a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of imetelstat in JAK-inhibitor relapsed/refractory myelofibrosis, as well as studies in other hematologic malignancies. Inhibiting telomerase activity, which is increased in malignant stem and progenitor cells in the bone marrow, aims to potentially reduce proliferation and induce death of malignant cells. To learn more, visit www.geron.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Investors and Media

Dawn Schottlandt

Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs

dschottlandt@geron.com