Geron Corp (GERN) announced the publication of preclinical data demonstrating that its telomerase inhibitor drug, imetelstat, inhibited telomerase activity and reduced tumor size in xenograft models of glioblastoma, and inhibited the activity of glioblastoma stem cells in culture.
The company said the current data show that the clonogenic and proliferative capacity of primary human glioblastoma tumor initiating cells is vastly decreased by exposure to imetelstat in vitro, compared to controls. Telomerase activity and telomere length were reduced, ultimately leading to cell death. In addition, temozolomide and ionizing radiation, standard treatment regimens for glioblastoma after surgical resection, boost the effects of imetelstat, further decreasing the viability of cultured glioblastoma tumor initiating cells.
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