SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Scios Inc. (Nasdaq: SCIO) announced today that net sales for its flagship
product Natrecor(R) (nesiritide) were $15.4 million in the first quarter of
2002, a 60 percent increase over the prior quarter ended December 31, 2001.
The Company will discuss full first quarter financial results on its regular
conference call scheduled for Thursday, April 18.
The Company also announced Natrecor has received an Ambulatory Payment
Classification (APC) pass-through code under the Hospital Outpatient
Prospective Payment System from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The pass-through payment code for Natrecor allows Medicare reimbursement for
acutely decompensated heart failure patients with dyspnea (shortness of
breath) at rest or with minimal activity treated with Natrecor in an
outpatient setting. The reimbursement code became effective April 1, 2002.
"We achieved better than expected sales due to greater than expected
physician prescribing of Natrecor for their patients suffering from acute
heart failure," said Richard B. Brewer, President and Chief Executive Officer
of Scios. "Physicians are having success treating their patients with
Natrecor, which is very gratifying. In addition, the issuance of an APC code
is further indication of the growing therapeutic importance of Natrecor and
will help increase use of it in outpatient settings. We believe this is a
significant step toward making Natrecor more widely available to the
physicians and patients who need it, and creates a bigger market for the
product."
"Our market research shows physicians are increasingly interested in using
Natrecor in a variety of clinical settings," said Thomas L. Feldman, Vice
President of Sales and Marketing at Scios. "The APC code makes the economics
of prescribing the product more attractive for physicians interested in using
it for their patients in the outpatient setting, an area in which Natrecor is
particularly well-suited because it is easy to use, has a good safety profile
and makes patients feel better."
First Quarter Conference Call Details
The company will discuss additional details when it releases first quarter
2002 financial results on Thursday, April 18. The customary quarterly
conference call will be held at 7:00 a.m. PT / 10:00 a.m. ET. The call will
also be broadcast live and archived on Scios' web site at http://www.sciosinc.com.
To access the conference call, dial 800-364-4174 (domestic) / 706-634-5159
(international) with passcode 3539525. For those unable to listen to the live
events, the webcast will be archived for 15 business days following the event.
A replay of the conference call will be available by dialing 800-642-1687
(domestic) / 706-645-9291 (international) with passcode 3539525 beginning
approximately 2 hours after the event and last through May 3, 2002.
About Natrecor
Scios received approval for Natrecor from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) in August 2001 for the treatment of acutely decompensated
heart failure in patients with dyspnea at rest or with minimal activity.
Administered intravenously, Natrecor is the first of a new drug class that is
a recombinant form of human B-type natriuretic peptide (hBNP), a naturally
occurring hormone in the body that promotes healthy functioning of the heart.
Natrecor may cause hypotension. If hypotension occurs during
administration of Natrecor, the dose should be reduced or discontinued, and
blood pressure should be monitored closely. At the recommended dose of
Natrecor, the incidence of symptomatic hypotension (4%) was similar to that of
IV nitroglycerin (5%). Asymptomatic hypotension occurred in 8% of patients
treated with both drugs. The mean duration of symptomatic hypotension was
longer with Natrecor than IV nitroglycerin (2.2 versus 0.7 hours,
respectively). Natrecor may affect renal function in susceptible patients. In
the 30-day follow-up period in the VMAC (Vasodilation in the Management of
Acute Congestive Heart Failure) trial, 5 patients in the IV nitroglycerin
group (2%) and 9 patients in the Natrecor group (3%) required first-time
dialysis. Other adverse events reported at a rate of at least 5% during the
first 24 hours of infusion with either Natrecor plus standard care or IV
nitroglycerin plus standard care therapy, included, respectively: ventricular
tachycardia (3%, 5%), nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (3%, 5%), headache
(8%, 20%), abdominal pain (1%, 5%), and nausea (4%, 6%). Higher doses of
Natrecor increased the risk of hypotension and elevated creatinine. Natrecor
should be avoided in patients with cardiogenic shock, systolic blood pressure
<90 mm Hg, or in patients with low cardiac filling pressures. Please refer to
http://www.natrecor.com for full Prescribing Information.
Scios Inc.
Scios is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel treatments for
cardiovascular and inflammatory disease. 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 Statement
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 and our inhibitors of the TGF-beta receptor, 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, Inc., +1-415-203-0328,
for Scios Inc.; or investors, Fern Lazar of Lazar Partners,
+1-212-867-1765, for Scios Inc.
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