GERON CORP

6. DEBT

Pharmakon Loan Agreement

On November 1, 2024, we entered into a loan agreement, or the Pharmakon Loan Agreement, with BioPharma Credit Investments V (Master) LP and BPCR Limited Partnership, each, a Lender, which are investment funds managed by Pharmakon Advisors, LP, and BioPharma Credit PLC, as collateral agent, that provides for a 5-year senior secured term loan facility of up to $250.0 million, divided into three committed tranches: (i) a Tranche A Loan in an aggregate principal amount of $125.0 million, or the Tranche A Loan, which was funded on November 1, 2024, or the Tranche A Closing Date; (ii) a Tranche B Loan in an aggregate principal amount of $75.0 million, or the Tranche B Loan, which is available, subject to certain limited conditions, at our option; and (iii) a Tranche C Loan in an aggregate principal amount of $50.0 million, or the Tranche C Loan, and together with the Tranche A Loan and the Tranche B Loan, collectively, the Term Loans, which is available to us upon reaching a specified trailing twelve-month RYTELO revenue milestone. The Tranche B Loan and the Tranche C Loan, once available, may be requested on or prior to December 31, 2025. A portion of the proceeds from the Tranche A Loan were used to repay, in full, all amounts owed under the Hercules Loan Agreement, which was terminated effective November 1, 2024. The remaining proceeds will be used to fund our general corporate and working capital requirements.

The Term Loans mature on November 1, 2029. The Term Loans bear interest at a variable rate per annum equal to 5.75% plus the three-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR, with a SOFR floor of 3.00%. As of the inception date, the interest rate applicable to the Tranche A Loan was 10.32%. As of September 30, 2025, the applicable interest rate was 10.04%. Interest is due and payable quarterly on the last day of each quarter with the first payment due on December 31, 2024. The Pharmakon Loan Agreement requires we pay an amount equal to 2.50% of the Lenders’ total committed amount to fund the Term Loans, payable with respect to each Term Loan on the funding date of such Term Loan.

We may elect to prepay the Term Loans in part or in whole prior to the Maturity Date with such prepayments being subject to a prepayment premium equal to the principal amount so prepaid multiplied by 3% if made prior to the 3rd anniversary of the funding date of the applicable Term Loan,2% if made on or after the 3rd anniversary of the funding date of the applicable Term Loan but prior to the 4th anniversary of the funding date of the applicable Term Loan, and 1% if made on or after the 4th anniversary of the funding date of the applicable Term Loan but prior to the Maturity Date. In addition to the prepayment premium, prepayments of any Term Loan prior to the 2nd anniversary of the funding date of such Term Loan are subject to a make-whole amount equal to the sum of all interest that would have accrued through such 2nd anniversary.

Our obligations under the Pharmakon Loan Agreement are secured by substantially all of our assets, including our intellectual property. Certain of our subsidiaries may, from time to time after the Tranche A Closing Date, be required to guarantee our obligations under the Pharmakon Loan Agreement and, in connection with such guarantee, pledge substantially all of their assets, including intellectual property, to secure such guarantee.

The Pharmakon Loan Agreement contains customary affirmative and restrictive covenants and representations and warranties. We are bound by certain affirmative covenants setting forth actions that are required during the term of the Pharmakon Loan Agreement, including, without limitation, certain information delivery requirements, obligations to maintain certain insurance, and certain notice requirements. There are no financial covenants. Additionally, we are bound by certain restrictive covenants setting forth actions that are not permitted to be taken during the term of the Pharmakon Loan Agreement, including, without limitation, (i) selling or disposing of assets, (ii) amending, modifying or waiving our rights under material agreements, (iii) consummating change in control transactions unless all amounts becoming due under the Loan Agreement are paid in full immediately upon (and concurrent with) the consummation of any such change in control transaction, (iv) incurring additional indebtedness, (v) incurring non-permitted liens or encumbrance on our or our subsidiaries’ assets, (vi) paying dividends or making any distribution or payment on or redeeming, retiring or purchasing any equity interests, and (vii) making payments on subordinated indebtedness, in each case, subject to specified exceptions. The Pharmakon Loan Agreement also contains the following events of default: (i) failure to pay principal, interest and other amounts when due, (ii) the breach of the covenants under the Loan Agreement, (iii) the occurrence of a material adverse change or the occurrence of a withdrawal event in respect of RYTELO, (iv) certain attachments of the credit parties assets and restraints on their business, (v) certain insolvency, liquidation, bankruptcy or similar events, (vi) certain cross-default of third-party indebtedness and royalty revenue contracts, (vii) the failure to pay certain judgments, (viii) material misrepresentations, (ix) the loan documents ceasing to create a valid security interest in a material portion of the collateral, (x) the occurrence of certain ERISA events, and (xi) the occurrence of a default under any subordination or intercreditor agreement, in each case subject to the grace periods, cure period and thresholds as specified in the Pharmakon Loan Agreement. Upon the occurrence and during the continuance of an event of default, the Lenders may, among other things, accelerate our obligations under the Pharmakon Loan Agreement (including all obligations for principal, interest and any applicable make-whole and prepayment premiums); provided that upon an event of default relating to certain insolvency, liquidation, bankruptcy or similar events, all outstanding obligations will be immediately accelerated.

Future Minimum Payments

The following table presents future minimum payments, including interest and the end of term charge, under the Loan Agreement as of September 30, 2025 (in thousands):

Liabilities Related to Sale of Future Royalties

On November 1, 2024, we entered into a revenue participation right purchase and sale agreement, or the Royalty Pharma Agreement, with Royalty Pharma Development Funding, LLC, or Royalty Pharma. Pursuant to the Royalty Pharma Agreement, we received an upfront payment of $125.0 million, or the Purchase Price, in exchange for which Royalty Pharma obtained the right, or the Revenue Participation Right, to receive certain amounts calculated as a percentage of future U.S. net sales of RYTELO for each calendar quarter, or Royalty Payments, during the term contemplated by the Royalty Pharma Agreement. Specifically, the revenue participation rate commences at 7.75% for annual U.S. net sales of up to and equal to $500.0 million declining to 1.0% for annual U.S. net sales exceeding $1.0 billion until the date when the aggregate Royalty Payments equal or exceed 1.65 times the Purchase Price, if this occurs by June 30, 2031, or the date when the aggregate Royalty Payments equal or exceed 2.0 times the Purchase Price.

In addition, we have the option to repurchase all of the Revenue Participation Right from Royalty Pharma for a purchase price of equal to the Buy-Out-Payment, as defined below, if we enter into a definitive agreement to consummate a change of control, or Buy-Back Option.

“Buy-Out Payment” means an amount equal to (a)1.65 times the Purchase Price minus the aggregate Royalty Payments as of the change of control, if the change of control occurs on or prior to December 31, 2027, or (b)2.0 times the Purchase Price minus the aggregate Royalty Payments as of the change of control, if the change of control occurs after December 31, 2027.

We accounted for the Royalty Pharma Agreement as a financing liability, primarily because it has significant continuing involvement in generating the future revenue on which the Royalty Payments are based. The liability related to Revenue Participation Right and the related interest expense are measured based on our current estimate of the timing and amount of expected future Royalty Payments expected to be paid over the estimated term of the Royalty Pharma Agreement The liability is amortized using the effective interest rate method, resulting in recognition of interest expense over the estimated term of the agreement.

We have determined the fair value of the liability related to the sale of future royalties is based on our current estimates of future royalties expected to be paid to Royalty Pharma over the life of the arrangement, which are considered Level 3.

The following table shows the activity within the liability related to sale of future royalties during the nine months ended September 30, 2025:

Embedded Derivatives

The conditional exercisable call option related to the event of default is considered to be an embedded derivative which is required to be bifurcated and accounted for as a separate financial instrument. In the periods presented, the value of the embedded derivative is not material and therefore, no amount has been recognized. If an event of default becomes more probable than is currently estimated, then the embedded derivative could become material in future periods and would be recognized as a separate financial instrument at that time. The embedded derivatives are classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy due to the use of significant unobservable inputs.

7. CONTINGENCIES AND UNCERTAINTIES

Legal Proceedings

On March 13 and March 14, 2025, we and certain of our current and former officers were named as defendants intwo putative securities class action lawsuits, each filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, captioned Dabestani v. Geron Corporation, et al., No. 3:25-cv-02507 and Potvin v. Geron Corporation, et al., No. 3:25-cv-02563, respectively. Both lawsuits allege violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder in connection with allegedly false and misleading statements concerning the commercial potential of RYTELO. The plaintiffs allege, among other things, that we overstated RYTELO's commercial potential by making materially false and misleading statements and/or concealing material adverse facts concerning RYTELO's commercial potential, including the lack of awareness among healthcare providers for RYTELO, the burden of monitoring requirements in administering the drug, and the impacts of seasonality and existing competition on RYTELO's sales, and that our stock price dropped when we disclosed in our earnings call on February 26, 2025, that we had observed flat revenue trends over the prior few months. The plaintiffs seek damages and interest, and an award of reasonable costs, including attorneys' and experts' fees. On May 29, 2025, the Court consolidated the Dabestaniand Potvin cases into one consolidated action captioned In re Geron Corporation Securities Litigation, or the Securities Class Action, and appointed lead plaintiffs and counsel for lead plaintiffs. On August 8, 2025, lead plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended complaint. On October 7, 2025, we filed our motion to dismiss the consolidated amended complaint.

On April 15, 2025 and April 16, 2025, three purported stockholders filed derivative complaints, each in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, captioned Bishop v. Scarlett, et al., No. 3:25-cv-03356, Lerner v. Scarlett, et al., No. 3:25-cv-03401, and Willis v. Scarlett, et al., No: 3:25-cv-03396, respectively. Thethree derivative lawsuits name certain of our current and former directors and officers and allege that they breached their fiduciary duties and violated federal securities laws by issuing allegedly false and misleading statements concerning the commercial potential of RYTELO. The allegations in each of thethree derivative complaints are substantially similar to thetwo aforementioned securities class action lawsuits, which these lawsuits are premised on. Each of thethree plaintiffs seek damages and interest, and an award of reasonable costs, including attorneys' and experts' fees. The plaintiffs in Bishop v. Scarlett, et al. and Willis v. Scarlett, et al. also seek punitive damages. On May 16, 2025, the Court consolidated thethree derivative complaints intoone consolidated action captioned In re Geron Corporation Derivative Litigation, or the Consolidated Derivative Action. On June 17, 2025, the Court stayed the Consolidated Derivative Action pending a final ruling on the anticipated motion to dismiss in the Securities Class Action.

On August 29, 2025, a purported stockholder made a demand on our board of directors to commence a civil action against certain of our current and former directors for breaching their fiduciary duties and violating the securities laws by issuing allegedly false and misleading statements concerning the commercial potential of RYTELO. On September 19, 2025, the board of directors responded that it would defer a final decision on the demand given the other pending derivative lawsuits and the Securities Class Action. On October 7, 2025, the purported stockholder filed a suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, captioned Jae Hyung v. Bir, et al., No. 3:25-cv-08575. The derivative lawsuit names certain of our current and former directors and officers. The allegations in the derivative lawsuit are substantially similar to the Securities Class Action and the aforementioned derivative lawsuits. The plaintiffs seek damages and an award of reasonable costs, including attorneys’ and experts’ fees.

It is possible that additional lawsuits will be filed or allegations made by stockholders with respect to these same or other matters and also naming us and/or our officers and directors as defendants. We intend to vigorously defend against the claims brought by the plaintiffs in these matters.

Such lawsuits are subject to inherent uncertainties, and the actual defense and disposition costs will depend upon many unknown factors. The outcome of the pending lawsuits and any other related lawsuits is necessarily uncertain. We could be forced to expend significant resources and may incur substantial legal fees and costs in defending against the pending lawsuits and any other related lawsuits, and we may not prevail. Monitoring, initiating and defending against legal actions is time-consuming for our management, is likely to be expensive, and may detract from our ability to fully focus our internal resources on our business activities. Additionally, we may not be successful in having any such lawsuits dismissed or settled within the limits of our insurance coverage. Given the early stage of these lawsuits and the inherent uncertainly of litigation, we cannot predict how long it may take to resolve the pending lawsuits or the potential outcome or possible amount of any damages. As such, we currently are unable to reasonably estimate the possible losses or a range of possible losses that may result from these matters, if any. Expenses associated with the pending lawsuits and any potential related lawsuits could be material to our consolidated financial statements if we do not prevail in the defense of such lawsuits, or even if we do prevail.

Indemnifications to Officers and Directors

Our corporate bylaws require that we indemnify our directors, as well as those who act as directors and officers of other entities at our request, against expenses, judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts actually and reasonably incurred in connection with any proceedings arising out of their services to Geron. In addition, we have entered into separate indemnification agreements with each of our directors and officers which provide for indemnification of these directors and officers under similar circumstances and under additional circumstances. The indemnification obligations are more fully described in our bylaws and the indemnification agreements. We purchase standard insurance to cover claims or a portion of the claims made against our directors and officers. Since a maximum obligation is not explicitly stated in our bylaws or in our indemnification agreements and will depend on the facts and circumstances that arise out of any future claims, the overall maximum amount of the obligations cannot be reasonably estimated.

Purchase Commitments

We have engaged third‑party contract manufacturers and have established our own manufacturing supply chain to manufacture and supply additional quantities of RYTELO that meet applicable regulatory standards for current and potential future clinical trials and commercial uses. Related to those contract manufacturing agreements, we have noncancelable commercial purchase commitments for approximately $97.6 million in the aggregate as of September 30, 2025. These purchase commitments can vary based on the commercial demand of RYTELO and are binding based on future manufacturing needs.

In the normal course of business, we enter into agreements with CROs for clinical trials for clinical and commercial supply manufacturing and with other vendors for non-clinical research studies, investigator-led trials and other services and products for operating purposes. We have not considered these payments to be contractual obligations since the contracts are generally cancellable at any time by us upon less than 180 days’ prior written notice. We also have certain in-license agreements that require us to pay milestones to such third parties upon achievement of certain development, regulatory or commercial milestones. Amounts related to contingent milestone payments are not considered contractual obligations as they are contingent on the successful achievement of certain development, regulatory approval and commercial milestones, which may not be achieved.

8. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Warrant Exercises

In the first quarter of 2025,30,380,000 pre-funded warrants issued in connection with our underwritten public offerings were net exercised, which resulted in the issuance of 30,369,830 shares of our common stock. The pre-funded warrants were issued in connection with underwritten public offerings of common stock and pre-funded warrants. There was no activity related to the pre-funded warrants during the second and third quarter of 2025. As of September 30, 2025, the following warrants remained outstanding from our offerings:

•pre-funded warrants with an exercise price of $0.001 per share to purchase 29,053,145 shares of our common stock, which have no expiration date; and

•stock purchase warrants with an exercise price of $1.30 per share to purchase 1,402,522 shares of our common stock, which expire on December 31, 2025.

Net Loss Per Share

Basic net income (loss) per share is calculated by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the periods presented without consideration of potential common shares. In connection with previous public offerings, we issued pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of our common stock.

Diluted net income per share would be calculated by adjusting the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the dilutive effect of additional shares of common stock that would have been outstanding if potentially dilutive securities had been issued, as determined using the treasury-stock method. Potential dilutive securities consist of outstanding stock options and warrants to purchase our common stock. Diluted net loss per share excludes potential dilutive securities for all periods presented as their effect would be anti-dilutive. Accordingly, basic and diluted net loss per share is the same for all periods presented in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations. Since we incurred a net loss for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024, the diluted net loss per share calculation excludes potential dilutive securities of 90,645,922 and 76,588,779, respectively, related to outstanding stock options and warrants as their effect would have been anti-dilutive.

Stock-Based Compensation

We maintain various stock incentive plans under which stock options and restricted stock awards and units can be granted to employees, non-employee directors and consultants, as applicable. We also have an employee stock purchase plan for all eligible employees. We recognize stock-based compensation expense based on grant-date fair values of service-based stock options and restricted stock units, or RSUs, on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period. For performance-based stock options, or PSOs, with vesting based on the achievement of certain strategic milestones, stock-based compensation expense is recognized over the period from the date the performance condition is determined to be probable of occurring through the date the applicable condition is expected to be met and is reduced for estimated forfeitures, as applicable. If the performance condition is not considered probable of being achieved, no stock-based compensation expense is recognized until such time as the performance condition is considered probable of being met, if at all. If the assessment of probability of the performance condition changes, the impact of the change in estimate would be recognized in the period of the change. The determination of grant-date fair values for our service-based and performance-based stock options and employee stock purchases using the Black-Scholes option‑pricing model is affected by our stock price as well as assumptions regarding a number of complex and subjective variables. The grant-date fair value for service-based restricted stock awards is determined using the fair value of our common stock on the date of grant. We evaluate whether an adjustment to the assumptions of fair value of our common stock and historical volatility are required if observed prices of our common stock materially differ from historical information.

The following table summarizes the stock-based compensation expense included in operating expenses on our condensed consolidated statements of operations related to stock options, RSUs, and employee stock purchases for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024, which was allocated as follows:

Stock-based compensation of $0.3 million and $1.0 million was capitalized to inventory for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, respectively, and $0.3 million and $0.4 million was capitalized to inventory for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024.

As stock-based compensation expense recognized in our condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024 is based on awards ultimately expected to vest, it has been reduced for estimated forfeitures, but at a minimum, reflects the grant-date fair value of those awards that actually vested in the period. Forfeitures have been estimated at the time of grant based on historical data and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates.

Amendment to 2018 Inducement Award Plan

In August 2025, the compensation committee of our board of directors approved an amendment to our 2018 Inducement Award Plan, or 2018 Inducement Plan, to increase the total number of shares issuable under the 2018 Inducement Plan by 11,000,000 shares of our common stock, for an aggregate total reserve of 51,300,000 shares. As of September 30, 2025, an aggregate of 39,653,097 shares of our common stock have been issued under our 2018 Inducement Plan.

Stock Options

We grant service-based and performance-based stock options under our equity plans to employees, non-employee directors and consultants. The service-based vesting period for employee stock options is generally four years from the date of the stock option grant. PSOs vest upon the achievement of specified strategic milestones. The fair value of service-based stock options granted during the nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024 has been estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions:

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The fair value of employees’ stock purchase rights during the nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024 has been estimated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions:

Dividend yield is based on historical cash dividend payments and Geron has paid no cash dividends to date. The expected volatility range is based on historical volatilities of our stock, since traded options on Geron common stock do not correspond to option terms and the trading volume of options is limited. The risk-free interest rate range is based on the U.S. Zero Coupon Treasury Strip Yields for the expected term in effect on the date of grant for an award. The expected term of stock options is derived from actual historical exercise and post-vesting cancellation data and represents the period of time that stock options granted are expected to be outstanding. The expected term of employees’ stock purchase rights is equal to the purchase period.

Restricted Stock Units

We grant service-based RSUs under our equity plans to employees. The service-based vesting period for an employee RSU is generally four years from the date of the grant. We measure the expense of the RSUs based on the grant-date fair value.

Non-Employee Stock-Based Awards

We measure share-based payments to non-employees based on the grant-date fair value of the equity awards. We recognize stock-based compensation expense for the fair value of the vested portion of non-employee stock-based awards on our condensed consolidated statements of operations.

The following table summarizes the activity for stock options, RSUs and PSOs as of September 30, 2025:

As of September 30, 2025, total compensation cost related to unvested awards not yet recognized and the weighted-average periods over which the awards are expected to be recognized were as follows ($ in thousands):

9. SEGMENT REPORTING

We are currently developing therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies. To date, our only source of product revenue has been from U.S. sales of RYTELO, which began shipping to customers in June 2024.

Additionally, we have generated insignificant royalty and license fee revenue under agreements that out-license technology to various companies.

For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, we have identifiedone operating and reportable segment. We define our operating segment based on internally reported financial information that is regularly reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker, or CODM, to analyze financial performance, make decisions, and allocate resources. Our President and Chief Executive Officer is the CODM.

The CODM reviews the segment's profit or loss based on net (loss) income reported on the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive (loss) income and considers forecast-to-actuals variances on a quarterly basis for expenses that are deemed significant. Further, the CODM reviews the segment's assets based on total assets reported on the consolidated balance sheet. All long-lived assets are held in the U.S.

Our CODM views specific categories within research and development expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses as significant given the correlation between cash burn and profitability. The following table reconciles reported revenues to net (loss) income under the significant expense principle for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024:

*Other segment expenses includes stock-based compensation expense and other general and administrative expenses largely resulting from personnel costs for individuals in administrative functions and legal and professional fees.