A Medical Device Daily

Celsion (Columbia, Maryland), a developer of heat-activated systems for treating cancer, yesterday reported that Boston Scientific (Natick, Massachusetts) has advanced to it $4.5 million, the third and final installment of a $15 million loan, in accordance with an agreement reached by the two companies last year.

Celsion received the first installment with signing of the agreement in August 2005 (Medical Device Daily, Aug. 11, 2005) and received the second earlier this year (MDD, Feb. 6, 2006).

The second and third installments were linked to continued development of Celsion's Prolieve Thermodilatation system for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The company also is developing Thermodox, a heat-activated liposomal encapsulation technology used in cancer treatment.

Dr. Lawrence Olanoff, CEO of Celsion, said that re-lease of the final installment indicates Boston Scientific's “continuing satisfaction with the progress that has been made with Prolieve. We believe that based on current plans, our cash on hand together with income generated from Prolieve sales should be sufficient to fund the current phase of our development programs through 2007.”

The agreement between the companies gives Celsion the right to prepay the loan at any time, and Boston Scientific may apply the outstanding principle, plus accrued interest, against the purchase price of the Prolieve assets or convert the outstanding principle plus accrued interest into shares of Celsion common stock at a minimum conversion price of 61 cents a share.

Celsion reports having research, license or commercialization agreements with various leading institutions, including the National Institute of Health (Bethesda, Maryland), Duke University Medical Center (Durham, North Carolina) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Boston).