COLUMBIA, MD -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/13/11 --
Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN), a leading oncology drug development company, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted an additional U.S. Patent in the "Needham Patent Family" covering Temperature-Sensitive Liposomal technologies, including the ThermoDox® formulation. Celsion holds a license agreement with Duke University under which the Company received exclusive rights to commercialize products using Duke's temperature sensitive liposome technology in the Needham Patent Family. The new patent, U.S. Patent No. 7,901,709, provides coverage for a new method of loading active agents (such as doxorubicin or other active chemotherapy drugs) into liposomes which, with USPTO patent term adjustment, provides
protection through February 13, 2021.
"This additional patent coverage adds significant, long-term value to our drug pipeline, as it extends both the term of our ThermoDox® patent estate, supporting our multifaceted portfolio development strategy, as well as the breadth of patent protection around temperature-sensitive liposomal formulations, Celsion's core technology platform," said Michael H. Tardugno, Celsion's President and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition to the market exclusivity provided by ThermoDox's U.S. and European Orphan Drug Designations in primary liver cancer, today's announcement is an example of the deliberate and comprehensive strategy being pursued by the Company to maximize the value of our drug delivery platform. We will continue to invest in strengthening our patent
portfolio, both in the U.S. and globally, to allow us to pursue a variety of difficult-to-treat cancers using multiple, well-established chemotherapeutic agents."
About ThermoDox® and the Phase III HEAT Study
ThermoDox® is a proprietary heat-activated liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin, an approved and frequently used oncology drug for the treatment of a wide range of cancers. In the HEAT Study, ThermoDox® is administered intravenously in combination with RFA. Localized mild hyperthermia (39.5 - 42 degrees Celsius) created by the RFA releases the entrapped doxorubicin from the liposome. This delivery technology enables high concentrations of doxorubicin to be deposited preferentially in a targeted tumor.
For primary liver cancer, ThermoDox® is being evaluated in a 600 patient global Phase III study at 76 clinical sites under an FDA Special Protocol Assessment. The study is designed to evaluate the efficacy of ThermoDox® in combination with Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) when compared to patients who receive RFA alone as the control. The primary endpoint for the study is progression-free survival (PFS) with a secondary confirmatory endpoint of overall survival. A pre-planned, unblinded interim efficacy analysis will be performed by the independent Data Monitoring Committee when enrollment in the HEAT Study is complete and 190 PFS events are realized in the study population. Additional information on the Company's ThermoDox® clinical studies may be found at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.
About Primary Liver Cancer
Primary liver cancer is one of the most deadly forms of cancer and ranks as the fifth most common solid tumor cancer. The incidence of primary liver cancer is approximately 20,000 cases per year in the United States, approximately 40,000 cases per year in Europe and is rapidly growing worldwide at approximately 700,000 cases per year, due to the high prevalence of Hepatitis B and C in developing countries. The standard first line treatment for liver cancer is surgical resection of the tumor; however 90% of patients are ineligible for surgery. Radio frequency ablation (RFA) has increasingly become the standard of care for non-resectable liver tumors, but the treatment becomes less effective for larger tumors. There are few non-surgical therapeutic treatment options available as
radiation therapy and chemotherapy are largely ineffective in the treatment of primary liver cancer.
About Celsion
Celsion is a leading oncology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of innovative cancer drugs including tumor-targeting treatments using focused heat energy in combination with heat-activated drug delivery systems. Celsion has research, license, or commercialization agreements with leading institutions such as the National Institutes of Health, Duke University Medical Center, University of Hong Kong, Mayo Clinic, the University of Pisa, and the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System. For more information on Celsion, visit our website: http://www.celsion.com.
Celsion wishes to inform readers that forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, unforeseen changes in the course of research and development activities and in clinical trials by others; possible acquisitions of other technologies, assets or businesses; possible actions by customers, suppliers, competitors, regulatory authorities; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Source: Celsion Corporation
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