Geron is working to get important things into our thick heads -- more specifically, it is developing a compound able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier that otherwise keeps potentially valuable drugs out of the brain. The company's research and development is targeting viable therapies for cancer, injury, and degenerative diseases. One of the company's lead products in clinical trials is an hESC therapy (derived from human stem cells) called GRNOPC1 for spinal cord injury. Geron is also focused on anticancer drug candidate GRN163L, which inhibits telomerase, an enzyme that enables cancer cells to replicate indefinitely. Founded in 1992, Geron maintains facilities in California and Scotland.