HARBOR UCLA MEDICAL CENTER BEGINS PHASE I CLINICAL TRIALS OF CELSION'S BREAST
CANCER TREATMENT SYSTEM
-- Testing Also Began in October at a Columbia/HCA Member Hospital in Florida
--
Columbia, MD - December 7, 1999: Celsion Corporation (OTC BB: CELN) today
announced that Harbor UCLA Medical Center in California is currently
recruiting patients for Phase I clinical trials of Celsion's breast cancer
treatment system. Additional Phase I testing began in October at a
Columbia/HCA member hospital in Florida to expedite patient accrual and
accelerate the trials.
"If the tumor ablating effect seen on the preclinical testing is confirmed in
patient clinical trials, the thermotherapy delivery system could have a major
impact in the way we treat patients with breast cancer by offering a
minimally invasive treatment that may avoid the need for major breast
surgery," said Dr. Hernan Vargas, chief of surgical oncology at Harbor UCLA
Medical Center and principal investigator of Celsion's Phase I clinical
trials.
The Phase I clinical studies underway in California and Florida are
evaluating the safety of Celsion's focused heat treatment system, which is
designed to destroy cancerous tumors and viable cancer cells using heat
alone. The device is hoped to be a non-surgical, minimally invasive treatment
that is non-toxic and side effect free.
The Company's focused heat breast cancer treatment system incorporates
proprietary technologies licensed exclusively from renowned engineering and
medical research institutions, including the Adaptive Phased Array (APA)
focusing technology developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT).
Celsion Corporation is a research and development company dedicated to
commercializing medical treatment systems for cancer and benign prostatic
hyperplasia using focused heat delivered by patented microwave technology.
Clinical trials and further development of the Company's treatment systems
are being conducted by leading institutions such as Columbia Hospital (a
Columbia/HCA Healthcare member), Duke University, Harbor UCLA Medical Center,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Montefiore Medical Center and the
University of California at San Francisco.
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Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe
harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks
and uncertainties, including, without limitation, possible changes in cost of
materials, expense items, capital expenditures, capital structure, and other
financial items; introduction of new products and possible acquisitions of
assets or businesses; possible actions by customers, suppliers, competitors,
regulatory authorities; and other risks detailed from time to time in the
Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
