Nordion Announces Europe-Focused Phase III Clinical Trial for TheraSphere® Liver Cancer Treatment

  Nordion Announces Europe-Focused Phase III Clinical Trial for TheraSphere®
                            Liver Cancer Treatment

PR Newswire

OTTAWA, April 24, 2012

Study to evaluate and compare safety and efficacy of TheraSphere® vs.
sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with portal vein thrombosis

OTTAWA, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -  Nordion Inc. (TSX: NDN) (NYSE:  NDZ), a 
leading provider of products  and services for  the prevention, diagnosis  and 
treatment of disease, today  announced an additional randomized,  multi-centre 
Phase III clinical trial for TheraSphere^®, Nordion's yttrium-90 (Y-90)  glass 
microsphere treatment for liver cancer.

The YES-P trial will be focused primarily in Europe, with additional locations
to be identified globally, and is targeting enrolment of about 350 patients at
approximately 24  sites.  The  trial  will further  evaluate  the  safety  and 
efficacy of  TheraSphere^®  in the  treatment  of patients  with  portal  vein 
thrombosis (PVT) associated with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma  (HCC), 
the most common form of primary liver cancer.

PVT, a complication in which a clot forms in one of the blood vessels  feeding 
the liver, occurs in approximately  30 to 40% of  HCC cases.  The presence  of 
PVT is  a  contraindication  for most  embolic  therapies,  but  TheraSphere^® 
represents a safe alternative.

"Nordion is  excited to  directly address  the important  question of  whether 
TheraSphere^® can extend the  lives of this sub-group  of HCC patients,  where 
typical life  expectancy  remains  unacceptably low,"  said  Mason  Ross,  MD, 
Nordion's Vice  President  of  Medical  Affairs. "YES-P  is  our  first  major 
clinical trial that will be primarily conducted in Europe, thus supporting our
commitment to increase our global  clinical research footprint while  building 
on the  knowledge  of  how  TheraSphere^® may  improve  survival  compared  to 
sorafenib."

The trial will follow  a two-armed design. In  one arm, patients will  undergo 
Y-90 radioembolization  treatment with  TheraSphere^®, while  patients in  the 
other arm will receive sorafenib.

In the last  13 months, Nordion  has also announced  two additional Phase  III 
clinical trials for TheraSphere^®:  STOP-HCC, involving patients with HCC, and
EPOCH,  involving   patients  with   colorectal  cancer   whose  disease   has 
metastasized to the liver.

About TheraSphere^®

TheraSphere^® is a  liver cancer therapy  that consists of  millions of  small 
glass beads (20 to  30 micrometers in  diameter) containing radioactive  Y-90. 
The product is injected by physicians  into the artery of the patient's  liver 
through a catheter, which allows the treatment to be delivered directly to the
tumour via blood flow.

TheraSphere^® is used in the European Union and in Canada for the treatment of
hepatic neoplasia  in  patients  who have  appropriately  positioned  arterial 
catheters.

In the US,  TheraSphere^® is  used to  treat patients  with HCC  who can  have 
placement of appropriately positioned hepatic  arterial catheters, and can  be 
used as a bridge to surgery or transplantation in these patients.  It is  also 
indicated for the treatment of HCC patients with partial or branch portal vein
thrombosis or  occlusion when  clinical  evaluation warrants  the  treatment.  
TheraSphere^® is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under
a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE). HDE approvals are based on demonstrated
safety and probable clinical benefit. However, effectiveness of the indication
for use has not been established.

Common side effects  include mild  to moderate  fatigue, pain  and nausea  for 
about a week. Physicians  describe these symptoms as  similar to those of  the 
flu. Some patients experience some loss  of appetite and temporary changes  in 
several blood tests. For details on  rare or more severe side effects,  please 
refer  to   the  TheraSphere^®   package   insert/instructions  for   use   at 
www.nordion.com/therasphere.

About Nordion Inc. 

Nordion Inc. (TSX: NDN)  (NYSE: NDZ) is a  global health science company  that 
provides market-leading  products  used  for  the  prevention,  diagnosis  and 
treatment of disease. We are a leading provider of medical isotopes,  targeted 
therapies and sterilization technologies that benefit the lives of millions of
people in more than 60 countries around the world. Our products are used daily
by pharmaceutical and  biotechnology companies, medical-device  manufacturers, 
hospitals, clinics and research laboratories. Nordion has more than 500 highly
skilled employees in  three locations.  Find out more  at www.nordion.com  and 
follow us at http://twitter.com/NordionInc.

SOURCE Nordion Inc.