Celsion Corporation Announces Commercialization of Reagent Products

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., July 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN), a leading oncology drug development company, today announced initiation of sales of its proprietary reagent products for life science research. Celsion's reagent products are based on its newly acquired proprietary delivery platform technologies, TheraPlas™ and TheraSilence™. TheraPlas™ and TheraSilence™ are designed for optimal transfection (intra-cellular delivery) of plasmid DNA and RNA into human (and other mammalian) cells. 

"Our newly commercialized reagent platform provides Celsion with yet another avenue for validation of its newly acquired technology, offering the potential to generate modest revenues in support of our high-potential oncology pipeline," said Michael H. Tardugno, Celsion's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The potential of this technology is demonstrated in EGEN-001, an IL-12 DNA plasmid vector, developed using the TheraPlas™ platform, which enables cell transfection followed by persistent, local secretion of the immuno-oncology cytokine IL-12.  Adding to promising results seen to date, we look forward to the outcome of an ongoing, Phase Ib trial of EGEN-001 in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, and to initiating a Phase I study in glioblastoma multiforme, or brain cancer, in the first half of 2015." 

Nucleic acid transfection reagents are widely used in industry and research institutions. Celsion's broad reagent portfolio consists of products that are suitable for delivery of plasmid DNA and a variety of RNAs including siRNA, microRNA, mRNA and anti-sense RNA. These reagents are simple to use and provide a high efficiency transfection with low cytotoxicity into a variety of cell types spanning a broad range of cell lines. The underlying technology supporting the reagent business is the same nucleic acid delivery platform technology that Celsion is advancing through clinical and preclinical testing for the treatment of ovarian and glioblastoma cancers and other difficult to treat diseases, including lung cancers.

About Celsion Corporation

Celsion is a fully-integrated oncology company focused on developing a portfolio of innovative cancer treatments, including directed chemotherapies, immunotherapies and RNA- or DNA-based therapies. The Company's lead program is ThermoDox®, a proprietary heat-activated liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin, currently in Phase III development for the treatment of primary liver cancer. The pipeline also includes EGEN-001, a DNA-based immunotherapy for the localized treatment of ovarian and brain cancers.  Celsion has three platform technologies for the development of novel nucleic acid-based immunotherapies and other anti-cancer DNA or RNA therapies, including TheraPlas^™, TheraSilence^™ and RAST^™.  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, including, without limitation, statements about the acquisition and the combined company as well as clinical and pre-clinical programs, involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, difficulties and operational and financial risks associated with integrating Celsion and EGEN after completion of the acquisition; unforeseen changes in the course of research and development activities and in clinical trials; the significant expense, time, and risk of failure of conducting clinical trials; the need for Celsion to evaluate its future development plans; termination of the Technology Development Contract or collaboration between Celsion and Hisun at any time; possible changes in cost and timing of development and testing, capital structure, financial condition, working capital needs and other financial items; possible acquisitions or licenses of other technologies, assets or businesses or the possible failure to make such acquisitions or licenses; possible actions by customers, suppliers, competitors, regulatory authorities; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Celsion's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-Q filed on May 8, 2014. Celsion assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise.

Celsion Investor Contact
Jeffrey W. Church
Sr. Vice President and CFO
609-482-2455
[email protected]

SOURCE Celsion Corporation