11:15 AM EDT, 07/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Geron ( GERN ) said Friday that the National Comprehensive Cancer Network updated its guidelines to recommend Rytelo, or imetelstat, as a Category 1 and 2A treatment for symptomatic anemia in lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes.

The Category 1 recommendation is for second-line treatment after Bristol-Myers Squibb's ( BMY ) Reblozyl, or luspatercept, in patients with serum erythropoietin levels less than 500 milli-units per milliliter, while the Category 2A is for first-line treatment in patients with more than 500 milli-units per milliliter, the company said.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved Rytelo in certain patients with myelodysplastic syndromes with transfusion-dependent anemia in June.

Shares of the company were up 5.6% in recent trading.

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