Geron shares surge after U.S. FDA approves blood disorder drug

Geron

07/06/2024 10:59

June 7 (Reuters) - 
    Shares of Geron  GERN.O  rose almost 16% on Friday before
market, a day after getting its first approval from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration for a drug to treat
transfusion-dependent anemia in patients with a group of blood
cancers.
  
    The drug, which will be sold under the brand Rytelo, will
compete with Bristol Myers Squibb's  BMY.N  Reblozyl to treat
transfusion-dependent anemia in patients with myelodysplastic
syndromes - a group of blood cancers where blood cells in the
bone marrow do not mature or become healthy blood cells.
     Geron said it will give information on the new drug's
pricing and availability in a conference call with investors
later in the day. News of the approval came late on Thursday. 
    In March, the independent advisers to the FDA backed the
benefits of the drug, saying it outweighed its risks.
    Geron shares were up 15.68% to $4.5 in pre market trading.  

 (Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita
Bhattacharjee)
 ((Sriparna.Roy@thomsonreuters.com;))