FOSTER CITY, Calif., April 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN), a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, today reported that, effective April 17, 2026, it granted stock options to purchase an aggregate of 855,000 shares of common stock to nine newly hired employees as an inducement material to such employees' acceptance of employment with Geron.

The stock options have an exercise price of $1.68 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Geron's common stock on the grant date, have a ten-year term and vest over four years, with 12.5% of the shares underlying the options vesting on the six-month anniversary of commencement of employment of such employee and the remaining shares vesting over the following 42 months in equal installments of whole shares, subject to continued employment with Geron through the applicable vesting dates.

The equity awards were granted by the Compensation Committee of Geron's Board of Directors in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) and are subject to the terms and conditions of Geron's 2018 Inducement Award Plan and the form of stock option agreement under the 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.

CONTACT:

Dawn Schottlandt

Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs

dschottlandt@geron.com

Geron Corporation Reports Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)