SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Scios Inc. (Nasdaq: SCIO) announced today that the first annual meeting of the
ADHERE heart failure registry was held recently to review national data
results and to discuss current treatment for acute heart failure and goals for
the registry in 2002. Over 240 principal investigators and site coordinators
attended the meeting in Atlanta, Ga.
ADHERE (Acute Decompensated Heart Failure National Registry) is a
first-of-its-kind national registry that will prospectively collect
observational data designed to track and study the medical management of
patients hospitalized with acute heart failure across the United States. More
than 3,000 patients have been enrolled since ADHERE was launched in
October 2001. The registry is on track to reach an enrollment of
10,000 patients from 200 U.S. hospitals in 2002.
The meeting's keynote speaker, David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., former U.S.
Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary for Health, commended Scios for
creating the registry, which he believes will ultimately benefit so many
Americans. He said that the importance of a registry like ADHERE is to
"bridge the gap between science and practice. The outcome of this registry
could significantly change the way Medicare does business and the way people
practice medicine." Dr. Satcher was previously involved with disease
registries at the Centers for Disease Control and in his role as Surgeon
General.
Gregg C. Fonarow, M.D., Director, Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center,
Associate Professor of Medicine, UCLA Division of Cardiology UCLA School of
Medicine and member of the scientific advisory committee for ADHERE, clarified
the registry's goals to:
-- Characterize current management of hospitalized patients with acute
heart failure;
-- Describe demographics & clinical features of heart failure patients;
-- Use the national database to generate hypotheses for randomized
controlled trials; and
-- Assist in evaluating and improving quality of care through quarterly
benchmark reports.
Hospitalization is the predominant contributor to heart failure costs,
hospital admissions are increasing in both men and women and chronic heart
failure is increasing due to the fact that the population is aging and medical
care continues to improve survival. Dr. Fonarow cautions that many
readmissions occur because of incomplete treatment during hospitalization.
ADHERE data confirm that readmissions may take place because of poor
application of chronic heart failure therapies that lead to proven benefits in
morbidity and/or mortality.
"It is important to track how this problem is being managed and determine
how to make improvements because acute heart failure affects so many Americans
and is the single largest expense for Medicare," Dr. Fonarow said. "This is
an important public health issue and ADHERE will be an invaluable tool for
physicians and nurses to improve heart failure patient care."
ADHERE is sponsored by Scios and overseen by an independent scientific
advisory committee of nationally recognized heart failure experts. To learn
more about it, call 1-866-594-5475, or e-mail adhereinfo@sciosinc.com, or
visit http://www.adhereregistry.com.
About Acute Heart Failure
An estimated 5 million Americans suffer from congestive heart failure,
with 550,000 new cases diagnosed annually. More than 1 million
hospitalizations, with a cost to the health-care system of $15 billion, occur
in the United States each year as a result of acute congestive heart failure.
Another 2 million Americans are hospitalized annually with acute congestive
heart failure as a secondary diagnosis. Congestive heart failure accounts for
the greatest number of hospitalizations of patients over the age of 65.
During an episode of acute heart failure, the heart's inability to
circulate blood adequately throughout the body worsens to the point where
hospitalization is necessary to stabilize the patient's condition. A sudden
increase in salt in a person's diet, a patient's failure to take prescribed
oral medications or the development of a new heart problem can cause these
acute episodes. Virtually all congestive heart failure patients will
experience at least one acute episode, in which the symptoms become so severe
that only intravenous medications administered in the hospital can improve a
patient's condition.
Scios Inc.
Scios is a biopharmaceutical company that discovered, developed and
markets Natrecor(R), the first new treatment for acutely decompensated
congestive heart failure in more than a decade. Scios has a growing pipeline,
including SCIO-469, one of the first oral p38 kinase inhibitors in clinical
trials. The Company's disease-based technology platform integrates expertise
in protein biology with computational and medicinal chemistry to identify
novel targets and rationally design small molecule compounds for large markets
with unmet medical needs.
Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Disclaimer
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. We generally identify such forward-looking statements
using words like "believe," "intend," "expect," "may," "should," "plan,"
"project," "contemplate," "anticipate" or similar statements. Statements that
are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on current
assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and
uncertainties may include the sales penetration and success of Natrecor, the
success of clinical trials of Natrecor and our pipeline products, including
SCIO-469, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in the reports
filed by Scios with the SEC, including the Company's quarterly reports and
annual report on Form 10-K. Actual results, performance or achievements of
Scios may differ significantly from those described in these forward-looking
statements. Scios disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise
any financial projections or forward-looking statements, whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Scios Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.sciosinc.com
CONTACT:
David Gryska of Scios Inc., +1-408-616-8303;
or media, Jim Weiss of WeissCom Partners, +1-415-203-0328, or
investors, Fern Lazar of Lazar Partners, +1-212-867-1765, both
for Scios Inc.
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