Dallas, Texas 07/23/2013 (Financialstrend) – Although the stocks of Celsion (NASDAQ:CLSN) are tanking, Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Company announced on July 19, 2013 that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding to continue its financing to Celsion for transfer of technology “ThermoDox”. Hisun will add to the non-dilutive financing to Celsion to continue its collaborations for transfer of the said technology so that Hisun can use “ThermoDox” commercially in China.
Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Company is one of the China’s leading pharmaceutical companies. Hisun had previously invested non-refundable amount of $5 million for Celsion, to provide support in ThermoDox manufacturing. Hisun wants to use the technology in domestic production in China, as China today faces a high mortality rate for HCC. This is a strategic move from Celsion, which faces a lot of criticism today.
Celsion has been testing “ThermoDox” through Phase III HEAT study, to analyze the endpoint in primary liver cancer patients. On January 31, 2013, it declared that it did not meet the expected endpoint for the study. Reacting to this news, the shares of the company fell like a pack of cards from $8.02 as on closing on January 30, 2013 to $1.51 after the announcement. This is close to 52 week low that the company has of $0.75. The stock since then hasn’t seen much of a rise.
Analysts are still keeping a positive outlook for the company on basis that the product is very strong; it just didn’t meet the endpoint on time. If this hadn’t been the view, Hisun wouldn’t have agreed to finance Celsion further. The company also recently announced Jeff Church as its CFO, also serving as Senior Vice president, in order to cut costs. Celsion also has a HEAT study presentation in Washington this September and DIGNITY phase II results in 2014, suggesting upward trend in charts.