CLSN - Strategic and Clinical Overview From page

CLSN - Strategic and Clinical Overview

From page 17 of most recent 10Q filed on 11.09.12

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/749647...093012.htm

Celsion Corporation is an innovative oncology drug development company focused on the development of treatments for those suffering with difficult to treat forms of cancer. We are working to develop and commercialize more efficient and effective, targeted chemotherapeutic oncology drugs based on our proprietary heat-activated liposomal technology. The promise of this drug technology is to maximize efficacy while minimizing side effects common to cancer treatments.

Our lead product ThermoDox® is being evaluated in a Phase III clinical trial for primary liver cancer (the HEAT study), Phase II clinical trial for colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) and a Phase II clinical trial for recurrent chest wall breast cancer. The Company expects to report top line data from the HEAT Study in January 2013. ThermoDox® is a liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin, an approved and frequently used oncology drug for the treatment of a wide range of cancers. Localized heat at mild hyperthermia temperatures (greater than 39.5 degrees Celsius) releases the encapsulated doxorubicin from the liposome enabling high concentrations of doxorubicin to be deposited preferentially in and around the targeted tumor.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted our Phase III HEAT study for ThermoDox®, in combination with radiofrequency ablation, a Special Protocol Assessment and has designated it as a Fast Track Development Program. We have received written guidance from the FDA stating that, assuming the results of our ongoing studies are adequate, we may submit our New Drug Application (NDA) for ThermoDox® pursuant to Section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. A 505(b) (2) NDA provides that some of the information from the reports required for marketing approval may come from studies that the applicant does not own or for which the applicant does not have a legal right of reference and permits a manufacturer to obtain marketing approval for a drug without needing to conduct or obtain a right of reference for all of the required studies. The availability of Section 505(b) (2) and the designation of ThermoDox® as a Fast Track Development Program may provide us with an expedited pathway to approval. There can be no assurance, however, that the results of our ongoing studies will be adequate to obtain approval of ThermoDox® under Section 505(b)(2). Drug research and development is an inherently uncertain process and there is a high risk of failure at every stage prior to approval and the timing and the outcome of clinical results is extremely difficult to predict. Clinical development successes and failures can have a disproportionate positive or negative impact on our scientific and medical prospects, financial prospects, financial condition, and market value.
In December 2011, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) provided written, scientific advice confirming that the HEAT study is acceptable as a basis for submission of a marketing authorization application (MAA). Based on feedback and guidance received from the EMA, we expect that future results demonstrating a convincing magnitude of improvement in progression-free survival, the study’s primary endpoint, along with a favorable benefit-risk ratio in the HEAT study, would be sufficient as the primary basis for registration of ThermoDox® in Europe. The EMA also supported our manufacturing strategy and technology transfer protocols, which will allow us to establish multiple manufacturing sites to support commercialization of ThermoDox® outside the United States.


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In March of 2011, we announced that the European Commission granted orphan drug designation for ThermoDox® in primary liver cancer, which provides assistance and incentives, including ten years of marketing exclusivity subsequent to product approval, in support of product candidates intended for the treatment of a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition affecting no more than five in 10,000 persons in the European Union. ThermoDox® also holds orphan drug designation in the U.S.


We have also demonstrated the feasibility for a product pipeline of cancer drugs that employ our heat activated liposomal technology in combination with known chemotherapeutics, including docetaxel and carboplatin. We believe that our technology can improve efficacy and safety of anticancer agents whose mechanism of action and safety profile are well understood by the medical and regulatory communities. Our approach provides a comparatively cost effective, low risk approval pathway. An element of our business strategy is to pursue, as resources permit, the research and development of a range of product candidates for a variety of indications. This is intended to allow us to diversify the risks associated with our research and development expenditures. To the extent we are unable to maintain a broad range of product candidates, our dependence on the success of one or a few product candidates would increase.


Additionally, in 2009, we formed a joint research agreement with Philips Healthcare, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, to evaluate the combination of Philips’ high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) with ThermoDox® to determine the potential of this combination to treat a broad range of cancers. Philips & Celsion are currently negotiating a new agreement reflecting our progress to clinical development status. In August 2012, we announced FDA Clearance to commence a Phase II Study of ThermoDox® and Philip’s Sonalleve® MR-Guided HIFU technology for the palliation of painful metastases to the bone caused by prostate cancer. In June 2012, we announced a collaboration with the University of Oxford, in the UK, to begin a clinical study of ThermoDox plus HIFU in the treatment of metastatic liver cancer. The trial, which is supported by the National Institute for Health Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, will be carried out as a multi-disciplinary collaboration between Celsion, the Oxford University Institute of Biomedical Engineering, and the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. This early phase clinical study is being finalized and will require approval from a local Ethics Committee. Treatment of the first patient is targeted for the first half of 2013. In addition, we are working with the Focused Ultrasound Foundation in preclinical studies designed to explore the use of ThermoDox in combination with MR-guided HIFU for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. The studies are being conducted at the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine. The UW research is expected to include animal models to confirm the ability of HIFU to target high concentrations of doxorubicin in proprietary pancreatic cancer cell lines, and in vivo studies to assess the response to these tumors treated using ThermoDox with and without HIFU-induced hyperthermia. We believe that these collaborations are just the beginning for combining important device technologies such as HIFU with our low heat activated liposomal technology. For certain markets, we may seek licensing partners to share in the development and commercialization costs. We will also evaluate licensing cancer products from third parties for cancer treatments to expand our product pipeline.


On May 30, 2012, we announced that we had reached our enrollment objective of 700 patients in the HEAT Study. On November 9, 2012, we announced 380 progression free survival (PFS) events have been realized in the HEAT Study. According to the study’s protocol, 380 events of progression trigger the data collection process, unblinding and final analysis of the results by the study’s independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC). PFS is the HEAT Study’s primary end point which has been granted Special Protocol Assessment by the FDA. Following review by the DMC, the Company plans to disclose top line results from the pivotal Phase III HEAT Study in January of 2013.


On November 28, 2011, we announced that the independent Date Monitoring Committee (DMC) for the HEAT study completed a pre-planned interim analysis for safety, efficacy and futility and unanimously recommended that the study continue to its final analysis as planned. The DMC evaluated data from 613 patients in its review, which was conducted following realization of 219 PFS events within the study population.


Consistent with our global regulatory strategy, we announced on April 23, 2012, that randomization of at least 200 patients in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a requirement for registrational filing in the PRC, had been completed. The HEAT study had already enrolled a sufficient number to support registrational filings in South Korea and Taiwan, two important markets for ThermoDox®.


Continue reading on SEC filing itself. I just posted enough to remind everyone why we are here.