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      LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ and CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, May 01, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX)
      Celsion Corporation and the Focused Ultrasound
      Foundation announced today their support for preclinical studies
      designed to explore the use of ThermoDox(R), Celsion’s Phase III,
      proprietary, heat-activated liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin,
      in combination with MR-guided high intensity focused ultrasound
      (HIFU) for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. The studies are being
      conducted at the University of Washington School of Medicine by Joo
      Ha Hwang, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Endoscopic Research, Associate
      Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Associate Professor of
      Bioengineering and Radiology.

      Celsion is supporting Dr. Hwang’s research with ThermoDox(R)
      supplies, and the Foundation is funding the preclinical study,
      “MR-guided HIFU Enhanced Targeted Drug Delivery for Treatment of
      Pancreatic Cancer.”

      A healthcare research and advocacy organization, the Focused
      Ultrasound Foundation solicits research proposals to address areas of
      unmet medical needs where HIFU may provide benefit. Before awarding
      funding to Dr. Hwang, the Foundation had identified pancreatic and
      liver cancers as potential clinical applications for HIFU and
      designed a research roadmap to address a set of preclinical,
      mechanistic and technical questions for the development of these
      applications.

      “We are excited about Dr. Hwang’s research and the new treatments he
      is pioneering. As always, our goal is to save and improve lives by
      supporting the development of new focused ultrasound therapies for
      many of today’s most deadly and debilitating conditions,” said Arik
      Hananel, M.D., Scientific and Medical Director of the Focused
      Ultrasound Foundation.

      The University of Washington School of Medicine research is expected
      to include in vitro experiments to confirm the ability of HIFU to
      target high concentrations of doxorubicin in proprietary pancreatic
      cancer cell lines, and in vivo studies to assess the response to
      these tumors treated using ThermoDox(R) with and without HIFU-induced
      hyperthermia. The optimal HIFU exposure duration needed to maximize
      doxorubicin concentration will also be evaluated, where ThermoDox(R)
      will be compared against other chemotherapeutic agents used in
      combination with HIFU in mouse tumor models.

      “Focused ultrasound has the potential to make an enormous impact on
      the treatment of pancreatic cancer, both as a means of ablating
      tumors and for the enhancement of therapeutic drug delivery to these
      tumors,” said Dr. Hwang. “The thermal drug targeting capability of
      ThermoDox makes it the ideal candidate for a combination treatment
      approach, one drawing from the benefits of both treatment modalities
      to provide what may be an innovative option for this large and urgent
      unmet medical need. I look forward to studying the combination in a
      unique animal model, one which effectively recapitulates the human
      disease, then moving rapidly into the clinic.”

      “We are pleased and excited to support Dr. Hwang’s research and to
      study ThermoDox’s potential in a disease with a staggering rate of
      mortality and few treatment options,” said Michael H. Tardugno,
      Celsion’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “In preclinical
      models, ThermoDox combined with HIFU has already demonstrated strong
      proof of concept, rationale and support for clinical studies in
      certain cancers, including bone cancer. This further illustrates
      ThermoDox’s broad potential to enhance the benefit of multiple
      heat-based therapies, including HIFU and radiofrequency ablation,
      across a spectrum of cancers.”

      Through a joint research agreement, Celsion is also working with
      Philips Healthcare, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, to
      develop treatments for bone cancer using ThermoDox(R) and HIFU.

      About Pancreatic Cancer

      According to the American Cancer Society, in 2011, an estimated
      44,030 Americans were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the U.S.,
      and over 37,660 died from the disease. Pancreatic cancer is the 4th
      leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, with the
      highest mortality rate of all major cancers and a five year survival
      rate of only 6%. Pancreatic cancer is one of the few cancers for
      which survival has not improved substantially over nearly 40 years.

      About ThermoDox(R)

      ThermoDox(R) 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. Localized mild hyperthermia
      (39.5 – 42 degrees Celsius) created by focused heat energy 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(R) is being evaluated in a 700
      patient global Phase III study at 79 clinical sites under an FDA
      Special Protocol Assessment. The study is designed to evaluate the
      efficacy of ThermoDox(R) 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(R) clinical studies
      may be found at
      www.clinicaltrials.gov .

      About Focused Ultrasound

      An early-stage medical technology with the potential to revolutionize
      the treatment of many life threatening and disabling conditions,
      focused ultrasound uses concentrated acoustic energy to treat tissue
      deep in the body while leaving surrounding healthy areas intact.
      Potentially, focused ultrasound could be a breakthrough in
      noninvasive surgery, serve as an alternative or complement to
      radiation therapy and enable the delivery of chemotherapeutics and
      other drugs at higher concentrations to precise targets with less
      toxicity. Researchers around the world are investigating the
      technology’s use in treating many forms of cancer — including bone,
      brain, breast, liver, pancreas, prostate and thyroid — and
      neurological conditions such as essential tremor, Parkinson’s
      disease, epilepsy, obsessive compulsive disorder and stroke. In the
      United States, focused ultrasound treatment for uterine fibroids has
      been approved by the FDA. Other approved treatments are available
      abroad.

      About The Focused Ultrasound Foundation

      Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Focused Ultrasound Foundation
      was created to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide by
      accelerating the development and adoption of focused ultrasound
      therapies. The Foundation works to clear the path to global adoption
      of these therapies by coordinating and funding research and
      educational activities, creating partnerships and fostering
      collaboration among stakeholders, and building awareness of
      “medicine’s best kept secret.” The Foundation is dedicated to
      ensuring that focused ultrasound finds its place as a mainstream
      therapy for cancer, brain tumors, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy,
      stroke and other life-threatening conditions within years, not
      decades. Since its establishment in 2006, the Foundation has become
      the largest non-governmental source of funding for focused ultrasound
      research.

      The Foundation is supporting clinical studies in essential tremor and
      brain tumors, as well as pending clinical trials for Parkinson’s
      disease, breast cancer and epilepsy. Complete information about the
      Foundation and its work can be found online at
      www.fusfoundation.org .

      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 liposomal drug technology. Celsion has research,
      license, or commercialization agreements with leading institutions
      including the National Institutes of Health, Duke University Medical
      Center, University of Hong Kong, the University of Pisa, the UCLA
      Department of Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital and
      the Beijing Cancer Hospital. For more information on Celsion, visit
      our website:
      https://www.celsion.com .

      Celsion Contact
      David Pitts
      Argot Partners
      212-600-1902
      Email Contact

      Focused Ultrasound Foundation Contact
      Ellen McKenna
      Director of Communications
      434-326-9827
      Email Contact

      SOURCE Celsion Corporation