B. Riley sees closely contested vote after ‘hair-raising’ Geron briefing docs

B. Riley analyst Kalpit Patel notes that the FDA briefing documents are available for Geron’s advisory committee meeting this Thursday and says the documents are “hair-raising at face value” as the FDA has raised several points debating the risk/benefit of imetelstat. However, the firm is “encouraged to see that there were no significant surprises noted” and expects “a closely contested vote, though with a tilt toward a positive outcome” given the composition of the panel and the unmet need. B. Riley has a Buy rating and $5 price target on Geron shares.