Celsion to Host Research and Development (R&D) Day

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., Oct. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN ), an oncology development company, today announced that it will host a Research and Development (R&D) Day for investors and analysts on Thursday, October 12, 2017.  The event will take place from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time in New York City, and will be simultaneously streamed as a webcast.  A live webcast of the presentations will be available on Celsion's website at http://investor.celsion.com/events.cfm beginning at approximately 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time.  

The presentations will focus on the Company's research and development programs and will feature leading experts in directed chemotherapies and immunotherapies. 

ThermoDox® - Pivotal Phase III OPTIMA Study for Primary Liver Cancer.   Lead OPTIMA Study clinical investigators representing various geographical regions (Asia-Pacific and Europe) and multiple medical disciplines (hepatology, interventional radiology and surgery) will present their past and current experiences with ThermoDox® for the treatment of primary liver cancer.

• Won Young Tak, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Internal Medicine, GI & Hepatology Kyungpook National University Hospital Daegu, Republic of Korea
• Stephen N. Wong, M.D., Principle Investigator OPTIMA, Chinese General Hospital, Philippines
• Robert M. Eisele, M.D., Deputy Head of Department, Dept. of General, Visceral, Vascular and Pediatric Surgery, Medical Faculty of the University of Saarland, Homburg, Germany 

GEN-1 Immunotherapy – A Powerful, Pro-Immune Modulator of Cancer’s Microenvironment. The lead investigator for the Company’s recently completed OVATION Study in newly diagnosed Stage III/IV ovarian cancer patients will review all of the clinical data from the trial and a leading immuno-oncology expert from Roswell Park Cancer Institute will discuss the translational research data from the OVATION Study.

• Premal H. Thaker, M.D., Associate Professor in Gynecologic Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
• Richard C. Koya, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Oncology and Immunology, Director of the Vector Development & Production Facility, Associate Director of the Center for Immunotherapy, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Center for Immunotherapy, Buffalo, NY

To ensure a timely connection, users should register at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start. The webcast will be archived for replay following the event for 90 days.

About the OPTIMA Study

The Phase III OPTIMA Study is expected to enroll up to 550 patients in up to 70 clinical sites in the United States, Europe, China and Asia Pacific, and will evaluate ThermoDox® in combination with optimized RFA, which will be standardized to a minimum of 45 minutes across all investigators and clinical sites for treating lesions three to seven centimeters, versus optimized RFA alone. The primary endpoint for the trial is Overall Survival, which is supported by post-hoc analysis of data from the Company's 701 patient HEAT Study, where optimized RFA has demonstrated the potential to significantly improve survival when combined with ThermoDox®. The statistical plan calls for two interim efficacy analyses by an independent Data Monitoring Committee.

About the OVATION Study

The Phase Ib trial was designed to evaluate weekly intraperitoneal dosing of GEN-1 in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the standard of care for patients newly diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Concurrently with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, enrolled patients will receive escalating weekly doses of GEN-1, from levels beginning at 36mg/m², to 47mg/m², 61mg/m² and 79mg/m² weekly for 8 treatments in total, with interval debulking surgery to follow. The regimen will primarily be evaluated for its safety and tolerability.  GEN-1, designed using Celsion's proprietary TheraPlas platform technology, is an IL-12 DNA plasmid vector encased in a nanoparticle delivery system, which enables cell transfection followed by persistent, local secretion of the IL-12 protein. IL-12 is one of the most active cytokines for the induction of potent anti-cancer immunity acting through the induction of T-lymphocyte and natural killer (NK) cell proliferation.

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 and in Phase II development for the treatment of recurrent chest wall breast cancer.  The pipeline also includes GEN-1, a DNA-based immunotherapy for the localized treatment of ovarian and brain cancers.  Celsion has two platform technologies for the development of novel nucleic acid-based immunotherapies and other anti-cancer DNA or RNA therapies.  For more information on Celsion, visit our website: http://www.celsion.com. (CLSN-LTSL/ThermoDox® CLSN-Optima Study/HCC) (CLSN-G1 CLSN-OV)

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; the uncertainties of and difficulties in analyzing interim clinical data, particularly in small subgroups that are not statistically significant; FDA and regulatory uncertainties and risks; the significant expense, time, and risk of failure of conducting clinical trials; the need for Celsion to evaluate its future development plans; possible acquisitions or licenses of other technologies, assets or businesses; possible actions by customers, suppliers, competitors, regulatory authorities; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Celsion's periodic reports and prospectuses filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  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 jchurch@celsion.com