Geron Names CEO John Scarlett As Chairman, Succeeding Hoyoung Huh

(RTTNews) - Geron Corp. (GERN) on Monday announced changes to the leadership structure of the company's Board of Directors.

The company noted that for personal reasons, effective December 26, 2018, Hoyoung Huh has resigned from the Board, including his roles as Chairman of the Board and as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Effective December 27, 2018, Geron's Board has appointed John Scarlett to serve as Chairman of the Board, in addition to his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Dr. Huh has served as Chairman of the Board since September 2011, and as a member of the Board since May 2010. Dr. Huh's resignation is not due to any disagreement on matters relating to the Company's future prospects, operations, policies or practices, the company said.

"Although I am resigning as a board member from all my public companies, including Geron, to pursue several personal objectives, I am optimistic about imetelstat's promising future in hematologic myeloid malignancies as it moves into Phase 3 clinical development and potential commercialization," said Dr. Huh.

Geron said it plans to commence the Phase 3 portion of its IMerge clinical trial in lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes by mid-year 2019.

Also effective December 27, 2018, the Geron Board has appointed Karin Eastham, who has served on the Board since 2009, to serve as Lead Independent Director for the Board.

Eastham will also retain her roles as Chairperson of the Company's Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee. As Lead Independent Director, she will provide active leadership on behalf of the independent directors of the Board.