NEW YORK, July 30, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) Currently awaiting FDA approval for their BPH treatment, Celsion Corp. (AMEX:CLN) is focused on finding new applications for their focused-heat technology for cancer treatments, heat activated drugs and gene therapy, the company's President, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer, Augustine Cheung PhD, told www.wallst.net.
"We anticipate approval for our BPH product by the end of the year, or early 2004," Cheung said. Celsion is working in conjunction with Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) to distribute the product internationally once it has gained approval. "We have reached a strategic alliance with them so that they would distribute the product and share the revenue with us. They will receive an option to purchase the product totally from us within three years of when we first release it," he added. Once the product is approved by the FDA Boston Scientific will "invest another $10 million in Celsion to obtain the licensing and distribution rights," Cheung said. "That will keep us funded through the year 2005."
Celsion is also working on developing a breast cancer treatment using their focused-heat technology, Cheung said. The treatment, which is currently in Phase 2 pivotal trials, "is designed for surgeons, and addresses both large and small tumors," Cheung said. The treatment, according to Cheung, will be able to kill tumors, using ablation/reduction of malignant tumors, allowing surgeons to have a "clear margin" to operate.
The company's temperature-sensitive drugs were developed with Duke University and "use focused heat as an indirect means of treatment," Cheung said. The drug, in the form of a gel-cap, will seek out a tumor, and once "the drug reaches the tumor, the entire payload of the drug will be released on the tumor only," Cheung said. "We are having a very large amount of the drug in the tumor, which will significantly append efficacy (in the tumor). At the same time, no part of the drug will be deposited anywhere else." Animal studies have shown "very promising" results, and Celsion has received FDA approval to begin phase 1 trials testing safety, Cheung added.
Although Celsion's "burn rate is quite significant," they have enough funding to "complete all the things (they) need to do until 2004," Cheung said. If Boston Scientific exercises their option to purchase Celsion's BPH product once it is approved, "it will cost them at least $16 million," Cheung said. "We will have a much larger war chest," he said. "With the money we already have, plus the $10 million we will hopefully have, we will be able to take all these projects into Phase 2."
To hear the entire interview, visit www.wallst.net
About Celsion Corp.
Celsion Corporation, based in Columbia, Maryland, is a research and development company dedicated to commercializing medical treatment systems for cancer and other diseases using focused-heat technology delivered by patented microwave technology.
About www.wallst.net
www.wallst.net is owned and operated by Digital Wall Street Inc., a multimedia provider of original, insightful commentary and news from North America's leading companies Giving a direct link to the management of today's fastest-growing companies through encompassing executive interviews and Sector Seminars. The company offers both a free service to consumers, and a premium, paid, monthly subscription to its members.