Geron Shares Seen Range-Bound On Lack Of Major Data Until Late 2017

BTIG expects Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) shares to be range-bound until major data release, potentially in late 2017 or 2018.

Geron's lead compound imetelstat, an inhibitor of telomerase partnered with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)'s Janssen showed impressive activity in multiple hematologic malignancies including in essential thrombocythemia (ET), myelofibrosis (MF) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in pilot studies.

"We believe imetelstat has a unique potential to address the underlying cause of the hematologic malignancies, i.e. the malignant progenitor cells' clones in the bone marrow, which could differentiate it from available therapies (JAK inhibitors)," analyst Ling Wang wrote in a note.

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Currently, Geron, with Janssen, is executing on the ongoing Phase II IMbark trial in relapsed or refractory MF and a Phase II/III IMerge trial in chronic anemia in lower risk MDS.

In addition, positive data from the IMbark study should further boost investors' confidence in the success of a future pivotal trial.

"We project peak sales of imetelstat could reach $400+ million in the US in MF, although our projections are subject to be refined upon the finalization of the regulatory strategy," Wang highlighted.

Wang expects peak sales of imetelstat in the United States in lower risk MDS could approach $700 million in 2023.

At time of writing, shares of Geron were down 0.73 percent at $2.71.

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