0000749647-11-000144.txt : 20111128 0000749647-11-000144.hdr.sgml : 20111128 20111128085713 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000749647-11-000144 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 8-K PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 2 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20111128 ITEM INFORMATION: Regulation FD Disclosure ITEM INFORMATION: Financial Statements and Exhibits FILED AS OF DATE: 20111128 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20111128 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: Celsion CORP CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000749647 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS [2834] IRS NUMBER: 521256615 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 8-K SEC ACT: 1934 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 001-15911 FILM NUMBER: 111227139 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 10220 OLD COLUMBIA ROAD STREET 2: SUITE L CITY: COLUMBIA STATE: MD ZIP: 21046-1705 BUSINESS PHONE: 4102905390 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 10220 OLD COLUMBIA ROAD STREET 2: SUITE L CITY: COLUMBIA STATE: MD ZIP: 21046 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: CELSION CORP DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19980515 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: CHEUNG LABORATORIES INC DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19920703 8-K 1 form8_k.htm FORM 8K form8_k.htm




 

 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
 
Washington, DC 20549
 
FORM 8-K
 
CURRENT REPORT
 
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
 
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 28, 2011
 
Celsion Corporation
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Delaware
 
001-15911
 
52-1256615
(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation)
 
(Commission File Number)
 
(IRS Employer
Identification No.)
         
 997 Lenox Drive, Suite 100
Lawrenceville, New Jersey
     
 
08648
  (Address of principal executive office)         (Zip Code)
   
 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (609) 896-9100
 
N/A
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
 
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligations of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

o
Written communication pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
   
o
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
   
o
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
   
o
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.135-4(c))


 
 

 

Item 7.01         Regulation FD Disclosure.

A copy of the press release issued by the Company on November 28, 2011, entitled “Celsion Announces Unanimous Recommendation by Independent Data Monitoring Committee to Continue and Complete Phase III HEAT Study of ThermoDox® in Primary Liver Cancer as Planned”, is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8K. Such information shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any of the Company’s filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act whether made before or after the date hereof and regardless of any general incorporation language in such filings, except to the extent expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.

Item 9.01.                       Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)       Exhibits

 
Exhibit No.
 
Description
   
99.1
Press Release, dated November 28, 2011 entitled “Celsion Announces Unanimous Recommendation by Independent Data Monitoring Committee to Continue and Complete Phase III HEAT Study of ThermoDox® in Primary Liver Cancer as Planned”.

 
 

 

SIGNATURES
 
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Exchange Act, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
 
 
CELSION CORPORATION
   
Date: November 28, 2011
By:/s/     Gregory Weaver
 
Gregory Weaver
Senior Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer

 

 
 

 

Exhibit Index
 

 
Exhibit No.
 
Description
   
99.1
Press Release, dated November 28, 2011 entitled “Celsion Announces Unanimous Recommendation by Independent Data Monitoring Committee to Continue and Complete Phase III HEAT Study of ThermoDox® in Primary Liver Cancer as Planned”.

EX-99.1 2 exhibit99_1.htm EXHIBIT 99.1 exhibit99_1.htm
Exhibit 99.1

Celsion Announces Unanimous Recommendation by
Independent Data Monitoring Committee to Continue and Complete
Phase III HEAT Study of ThermoDox® in Primary Liver Cancer as Planned

Company May Conduct Additional Interim Efficacy Analyses Following Agreement
With FDA

Reconfirms 380 PFS Events Projected to Occur in Late 2012

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – November 28, 2011 – Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ:CLSN), a leading oncology drug development company, announced today that the independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) for Celsion’s Phase III HEAT Study, a multinational, double-blind, placebo-controlled, pivotal study of ThermoDox® in combination with radio frequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or primary liver cancer, has completed a 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 the realization of 219 progression-free survival (PFS) events within the study population. A total of 380 events of progression are required to reach the planned final analysis of the study.

Celsion also announced today that the DMC, in its review, followed a statistical boundary determined by the Company using the Lan DeMets implementation of the O'Brien-Fleming spending function.  This approach allows for the Company to conduct additional interim efficacy analyses prior to final data read-out at 380 PFS events with no increased risk of statistical penalty.  The additional analyses may allow for earlier stopping of the study. Additionally, based on its internally modeled estimates of PFS events, Celsion reconfirmed that 380 PFS events are projected to occur in late 2012.

"The DMC’s unanimous recommendation is a significant achievement for Celsion based on the most comprehensive review of the HEAT Study to date, including the first-ever review of efficacy results," said Michael H. Tardugno, Celsion's President and Chief Executive Officer. “Critically, we have the potential to realize a successful outcome to the study prior to its planned completion.  We are encouraged by what may be sufficient rationale for conducting an additional preplanned efficacy review prior to the 380 events called for in our protocol, and will seek to amend our Special Protocol Assessment Agreement with the FDA accordingly.  We thank the DMC for their work and thorough review, and are grateful for the continued support and enthusiasm from the healthcare community, regulators, our investors and our employees.”

The HEAT Study is being conducted under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Special Protocol Assessment, has received FDA Fast Track Designation and has been designated as a Priority Trial for liver cancer by the National Institutes of Health.  Target enrollment of 600 patients was reached in August 2011, after which the DMC conducted this interim efficacy analysis based on the realization of 219 progression-free survival events. Consistent with the Company's global regulatory strategy, Celsion is continuing to enroll patients in the HEAT Study in order to randomize at least 200 patients in China, a requirement for sFDA (State Food and Drug Administration) registrational filing in that country and to ensure timely readout of final data. In addition to meeting the U.S. FDA enrollment objective, the HEAT Study has also enrolled a sufficient number of patients to support, in Asia, registrational filings in S. Korea and Taiwan, two very important markets for ThermoDox®.

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 today is approximately 26,000 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 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. Additional information on the Company's ThermoDox® clinical studies may be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov.


About Celsion Corporation

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, 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.

Investor Contact

David Pitts
Argot Partners
212-600-1902
David@argotpartners.com