Scios Announces FDA Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee To Review Natrecor New Drug Application

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Scios Announces FDA Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee To Review Natrecor New Drug Application
    SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Scios Inc. (Nasdaq: SCIO)
announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Cardiovascular
and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee will review the company's New Drug
Application (NDA) amendment for Natrecor(R) (nesitritide) for the treatment of
acute congestive heart failure (CHF) on Friday, May 25, 2001.
Scios submitted an amendment to its existing NDA for Natrecor at the beginning
of this year, based largely on the findings of the 498-patient VMAC
(Vasodilation in the Management of Acute Congestive heart failure) trial.  If
approved, Natrecor would be the first new treatment for acute CHF in more than
a decade.
    "We are pleased to have the opportunity to present all of the Natrecor
data, particularly the VMAC data, to the FDA Advisory Committee," said
Darlene P. Horton, M.D., Scios' Vice President of Medical Affairs.  "We have
been working closely with the Agency and believe we can present a compelling
case regarding the approvability of this drug."
    In addition to Dr. Horton from Scios, James B. Young, M.D., Chair, VMAC
Steering Committee and Head, Section of Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant
Medicine and Medical Director of the Kaufman Center for Heart Failure at the
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and William Abraham, M.D., Chief, Division of
Cardiovascular Medicine and Director, Section of Heart Failure and Cardiac
Transplantation, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, will present
Natrecor data.
    "The Advisory Committee review of the data supporting the application for
approval of Natrecor is an important step for Natrecor and an important event
for other applications to follow for this indication," commented
Richard B. Brewer, Scios' Chief Executive Officer.  "As we have indicated
previously, we have been expecting and preparing for Advisory Committee
review."
    Natrecor is a recombinant form of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), a
naturally occurring hormone in the body that aids healthy functioning of the
heart.  It causes arteries and veins to dilate, alleviating symptoms by
improving blood movement around the heart without a change in heart rate.
Natrecor is administered intravenously, primarily in a standard fixed dose
regimen that not require titration (i.e., dose adjustments).  Roughly five
million Americans suffer from heart failure, and there are approximately one
million hospitalizations each year in the United States for acute heart
failure.
    Immediately following the Advisory Committee meeting, Scios will host a
conference call and webcast to discuss the results of the meeting.  The
webcast and conference call will begin at 6:00 p.m. (ET) on Friday, May 25th.
The webcast will be available on Scios' website, http://www.sciosinc.com.  The
conference call dial-in will be 800-314-7867.  A replay of both the conference
call and webcast will be available through June 1, 2001.  The replay dial-in
number will be 888-203-1112, confirmation code 593777.

    Scios Inc.
    Scios is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel treatments for heart
failure and rheumatoid arthritis.  The company's disease-based technology
platform integrates expertise in protein biology with combinatorial and
medicinal chemistry to identify novel targets and rationally design large and
small-molecule compounds to treat cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases,
two of the world's leading unmet medical needs.  Additional information on
Scios is available at its web site located at http://www.sciosinc.com and in the
company's various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.  These
include uncertainties associated with anticipating the response of the FDA and
the Advisory Committee to the results of the VMAC trial, the timing of
regulatory approval of Natrecor, and acceptance by the medical community of
Natrecor as a new therapy for acute decompensated CHF, as well as other risks
detailed from time to time in the reports filed by Scios with the SEC,
including the company's annual report on form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2000.
SOURCE Scios Inc.
http://www.sciosinc.com
CONTACT:
Wendy Carhart of Scios Inc., 408-616 8325; or
Jim Weiss of Weisscomm, 415-203-0328, for Scios Inc.; or Michelle
Choi of Edelman Public Relations, 212-704 4580, for Scios Inc.