Eleison Announces Achievement of Enrollment Milestone in its Phase II Trial of ILC for Pediatric Bone Cancer

    ST. PETERSBURG, FL, January 10, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Eleison Pharmaceuticals LLC, a specialty pharmaceutical company developing life-saving therapeutics for rare cancers, has announced it has passed the half-way point for enrollment in the first stage of its ongoing Phase II study of ILC (Inhaled Lipid-complexed Cisplatin), for the treatment of patients with pediatric osteosarcoma (bone cancer). The single-arm trial employs a Simon two-stage design and is evaluating the safety and efficacy of ILC. Currently, eight centers in the U.S. are open for patient enrollment, and additional sites are expected to open in the coming weeks. More information about the study may be found at the www.clinicaltrials.gov website.

"Osteosarcoma often spreads to the lungs, which unfortunately is difficult to treat and has a poor prognosis," commented Dr. Forrest Anthony, CMO of Eleison Pharmaceuticals. "ILC has been designed to treat patients with lung metastases, and thus the ongoing Phase II study is enrolling patients who have recently experienced a first or second pulmonary recurrence," indicated Dr. Anthony.

About Pediatric Osteosarcoma

In the U.S., 500 children and young adults are diagnosed with osteosarcoma each year, a type of bone cancer. Standard therapy includes a combination of surgery and chemotherapy, although 30-35% of patients will experience a recurrence, most often in the lungs and only in the lungs. The prognosis for relapsed patients with pulmonary metastases is particularly grim, with five year survival of less than 25%.

About ILC

Eleison has an exclusive worldwide license to ILC, a novel, sustained release formulation of cisplatin in a nanoscale lipid based complex administered via inhalation. ILC was designed to deliver high levels of sustained release cisplatin targeted to the lung, without systemic-related toxicities.

About Eleison Pharmaceuticals

Eleison's mission is to acquire, develop, and commercialize clinical stage drug candidates for "orphan" oncology indications, providing new hope for patients with rare life-threatening diseases. In addition to ILC, Eleison is developing Glufosfamide, a Phase III drug candidate for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer, and is in discussions to acquire other promising candidates for rare cancers. Eleison was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in St. Petersburg, FL.

Forward Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, the statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding Eleison's product candidates, their uses and potential benefits and clinical trial results and plans. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Eleison's ability to enroll and complete its current and anticipated clinical trials, the time and expense required to conduct such clinical trials and analyze data, the possibility that results from these trials will not be confirmed, potential adverse side effects, issues arising in the regulatory or manufacturing process and the results of such clinical trials (including product safety issues and efficacy results). Eleison does not intend to update any forward-looking statement made in this news release.

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