Celsion Corp. and Duke University to Develop Targeted Drug Delivery, Gene Therapy, and Anti-Angiogenesis Cancer Treatments.

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--June 17, 1998--

-- Celsion Invites Drug Developers to Discuss Development Alliances

Using its Unique Delivery and Concentration System to Treat Cancer

and Other Diseases --

Celsion Corporation (OTC BB:CELN), formerly Cheung Laboratories, Inc., today announced the initiation of a sponsored research alliance with Duke University Medical Center to develop a new family of heat-activated targeted drug delivery, gene therapy, and anti-angiogenesis systems. Celsion holds the exclusive right to negotiate worldwide licenses of technologies developed through the alliance.

Duke scientists have conducted pioneering work in several areas of direct cancer tumor treatment. Part of this effort involves the invention of a novel drug delivery and concentration system (heat-activated lipid-based encapsulates) to selectively deliver highly toxic drugs, genetic modifiers, and anti-angiogenesis compounds into tumor cells utilizing targeted heat technology as an activating mechanism.

Duke will apply Celsion's precise thermotherapy system as the activating mechanism. The thermotherapy system targets focused heat to tumors. It does so with adaptive phased array (APA) technology which was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and exclusively licensed to Celsion. The Company holds an FDA supplemental pre-market approval allowing for the commercialization of the APA-integrated device.

"This unique approach, which is designed to enable the localization and modulation of treatment with focused heat, represents a critical step forward towards the clinical reality of using targeted drug delivery and gene therapy to treat cancer tumors and other localized diseases," said Dr. Max Link, a Celsion director. "The implications are significant for pharmaceutical developers interested in maximizing the efficacy of candidate drugs while minimizing undesirable side effects. Since localized delivery enables the therapeutic dose to be notably reduced, it should mitigate side effects which often cause the development of many potentially useful drugs to be canceled."

Dr. Mark Dewhirst, professor of radiation oncology at Duke University Medical Center, said, "We at Duke have a team of professionals with proprietary knowledge for manufacturing and implementing heat-sensitive microcarriers for drug delivery and gene therapy approaches. I am confident the combined technologies of Celsion and Duke will lead to important breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer and even non-malignant diseases."

Heat-Activated Targeted Drug Delivery Systems

The first major emphasis of the Celsion-Duke alliance is the development of heat-sensitive lipid-based microcarriers which encapsulate drugs for intravenous delivery. Upon reaching the tumor where the focused heat is applied, the microcarrier is designed to undergo a physical change that leads to a triggered release of the entire encapsulated drug content within a few minutes. This approach is expected to achieve increased deposition and localization of drugs and other agents in the tumor or any other precise location within the body.

In a preclinical demonstration using a live animal tumor, Duke scientists demonstrated the concept of heat-activated microcarrier-encapsulated drug release and further observed that continued heating after release leads to a 50-fold increase in intra-tumor drug concentration at 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit). This suggests that the new drug delivery and concentration system could lead to a significant increase in efficacy.

"To establish that these new materials will perform as expected," stated Dr. David Needham, associate professor of the mechanical engineering and material science department at Duke University, "we are working in close collaboration with the radiation oncology department to test the heat-sensitive microcarrier constructs in animals and ultimately in humans. I am very optimistic that the combined technologies of Celsion, our microcarrier research group, and Duke's comprehensive cancer center will eventually lead to the targeted delivery of drugs to tumors using focused heat."

Celsion Corporation, formerly Cheung Laboratories, Inc., is a research and development company dedicated to commercializing medical treatment systems for cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia utilizing deep focused heat delivered by patented microwave technology. Celsion is presently working with leading institutions to develop its focused heat treatments, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, and Duke University in the United States, and Hammersmith Hospital and Oxford University in England.

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.

CONTACT: Celsion Corporation

John Mon

[phone]

www.celsion.com

or

OTC Financial Network

Geoffrey Eiten

[phone] / [phone]

www.otcfn.com/celn