Celsion Reports Data Safety Monitoring Board Unanimous Recommendation to Continue Dosing Patients in the Phase II Portion of the OVATION 2 Study with GEN-1 in Advanced Ovarian Cancer

OVATION 2 Study is Over 75% Enrolled; Full Enrollment Expected by Mid-2022

Novel Gene-Mediated Immunotherapy is Safe and Demonstrates an Acceptable Risk/Benefit When Administered Over a Six-Month Period

Excerpt from the Press Release:

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., Feb. 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN), a clinical-stage company focused on DNA-based immunotherapy and next-generation vaccines, today announced that following a pre-planned interim safety review of 81 as treated patients randomized in the Phase I/II OVATION 2 Study with GEN-1 in advanced (Stage III/IV) ovarian cancer, the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) has unanimously recommended that the OVATION 2 Study continue treating patients with the dose of 100 mg/m². The DSMB also determined that safety is satisfactory with an acceptable risk/benefit, and that patients tolerate up to 17 doses of GEN-1 during a course of treatment that lasts up to six months. No dose-limiting toxicities were reported.

The OVATION 2 Study combines GEN-1, the Company’s IL-12 gene-mediated immunotherapy, with standard-of-care neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in patients newly diagnosed with Stage III/IV ovarian cancer. NACT is designed to shrink the cancer as much as possible for optimal surgical removal after three cycles of chemotherapy. Following NACT, patients undergo interval debulking surgery, followed by three additional cycles of chemotherapy to treat any residual tumor.

The OVATION 2 Study is designed with an 80% confidence interval for an observed Progression Free Survival (PFS) Hazard Ratio of 0.75, which would mean an approximate 33% improvement in risk for cancer progression when comparing the treatment arm (NACT + GEN-1) with the control arm (NACT only). GEN-1 is an immunotherapy that produces safe and durable local levels of IL-12, a pluripotent cytokine associated with the stimulation of innate and adaptive immune response against cancer. The GEN-1 nanoparticle comprises a DNA plasmid encoding IL-12 gene and a synthetic polymer facilitating plasmid delivery vector. Cell transfection is followed by persistent, local secretion of the IL-12 protein at therapeutic levels.

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