SiliconBeat

A day before Geron announced to the world last week that it had won approval from U.S. regulators to begin the first human test of embryonic stem cells by treating people who have spinal cord injuries, a member of its board told the company he was resigning.

John Walker, a member of the company’s board since 1997, cited time constraints “relating to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of another company,” a move that has yet to be announced.

So far no word of Walker stepping down from the boards of two other company’s he serves on: Renovis and Affymax.

As it turns out, news of his resignation from Geron’s board was released a day after shareholders of Novacea, the South San Francisco company where Walker serves as chief exectuvie, approved its merger into Transcept Pharmaceuticals, a hitherto private company based in Richmond that will eventually be a public company traded under the symbol TSPT.

The newly public Transcept will focus on treatments involved in psychiatry and sleep medicine. Novacea has been focused on cancer therapies.

Walker will serve on the board of the surviving company, which will be led by Transcept’s current chief executive, Glenn Oclassen.

As of May 28, Walker owned 59,744 shares of Geron, which rose 36 percent last week after news was released of the Food and Drug Administration approval for Geron’s spinal injury treatment.