A fortunate few companies enjoy unanimous support among professional analysts, and Celsion Corporation is one of those few. The often-praised cancer drug development company recently secured a proprietary patent for its “method of storing nanoparticle formulations” application in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
Celsion holds an exclusive license agreement with Duke University for its temperature-sensitive liposome technology, which covers the ThermoDox formulation, an experimental cancer drug. ThermoDox is used for liver cancer and works by delivering a concentration of an often-used cancer drug to the site of the tumor by its liposomal transport system, and using heat to activate it en masse.
ThermoDox has been working through trials for other types of cancer, too. Celsion said further analysis shows it may in fact be viable for the treatment of breast cancer, colorectal liver metastases and painful bone metastases. It also holds promise in areas of additional solid tumor indications for which Doxorubicin is indicated, which is typically cancers of the bladder, stomach, lung, ovaries and thyroid.
ThermoDox's Phase III Heat Study failed to meet is primary end point of progression free survival, but Celsion believes in the technology enough to continue to perform subgroup analysis. Other data from the study demonstrated that ThermoDox significantly improves overall survival in those patients who have a single lesion, if their lesions undergo radiofrequency ablation for 45 minutes or more. The company says it remains committed to evaluating ThermoDox for the high-incidence liver cancer regions.
Currently Celsion is working to pursue the data needed to secure marketing approval in China. The newly acquired patents it has secured overseas will help extend the overall term of the ThermoDox patent portfolio to August 2026.
"Extending the term of our ThermoDox patent estate supports our life-cycle management strategy for our unique temperature-sensitive liposomal formulations," said Michael H. Tardugno, Celsion's president and chief executive officer.
The company has patent pending applications submitted to the United States and Europe.
Edited by
Rachel Ramsey
