UPDATE - scPharmaceuticals Announces FDA Approval of FUROSCIX® (furosemide injection), the First and Only Self-administered, Subcutaneous Loop Diuretic for the At-home Treatment of Congestion in Chronic Heart Failure

FUROSCIX demonstrated 99.6% bioavailability and produced similar diuresis and natriuresis compared to intravenous furosemide

Commercial launch planned in Q1 2023

BURLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- scPharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: SCPH), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products that have the potential to optimize the delivery of infused therapies, advance patient care, and reduce healthcare costs, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved FUROSCIX® (furosemide injection), a proprietary formulation of furosemide delivered via an On-Body Infusor for the treatment of congestion due to fluid overload in adults with New York Heart Association Class II/III chronic heart failure. FUROSCIX is not indicated for emergency situations or in patients with acute pulmonary edema. FUROSCIX Infusor will deliver only an 80-mg dose. FUROSCIX is the first and only FDA-approved subcutaneous loop diuretic that delivers IV equivalent diuresis at home via the FUROSCIX Infusor.

“Congestion due to worsening heart failure is one of the most common causes of hospital admissions in patients over 65, and today’s approval of FUROSCIX represents an important treatment advancement for the over seven million heart failure patients in the U.S. that will be able to self-administer IV equivalent diuresis at home,” said John Tucker, President and Chief Executive Officer of scPharmaceuticals. “We are preparing to optimize commercialization efforts to offer FUROSCIX to patients in the first quarter of next year with the goal of driving rapid patient adoption to meet the needs of the $5.9 billion addressable market in the U.S.”

IV equivalence was established in a clinical study in which FUROSCIX demonstrated 99.6% bioavailability (90% CI: 94.8%-104.8%) and 8-hour urine output of 2.7 L which was similar to subjects receiving intravenous furosemide. FUROSCIX is not indicated for use in emergency situations or in patients with acute pulmonary edema. The On-Body Infusor will deliver only an 80-mg dose of FUROSCIX.

“As we move towards commercialization, we have compiled a body of evidence demonstrating the value proposition of FUROSCIX across healthcare stakeholders,” said John Mohr, Pharm.D., Senior Vice President, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs of scPharmaceuticals. “The totality of clinical and pharmacoeconomic data that we have generated to date supports an opportunity to shift the treatment paradigm of how heart failure patients with congestion are treated and has the potential to become a new standard of care.”

FUROSCIX enables subcutaneous administration at home by the patient or a caregiver with the use of the FUROSCIX On-Body Infusor. The On-Body Infusor for FUROSCIX was developed utilizing West Pharmaceutical Services’ proprietary SmartDose®¹ On-Body Drug Delivery technology. Once the pre-filled cartridge is inserted into the pre-programmed single-use On-Body Infusor for FUROSCIX and attached to the abdomen, the device is activated with the press of a button to deliver an 80-mg dose over five hours.

“This marks a tremendous opportunity to improve the at-home management of worsening congestion in patients with heart failure who display reduced responsiveness to oral diuretics and require administration of intravenous diuretics, which typically requires admission to the hospital,” said William T. Abraham, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine (Cardiology), Physiology and Cell Biology and College of Medicine Distinguished Professor at The Ohio State University and scPharmaceuticals Board member. “The FDA’s approval of FUROSCIX is significant and will allow patients to be treated outside of the hospital setting, and I look forward to incorporating it into my own practice as quickly as possible.” 

FUROSCIX® (furosemide injection) 80 mg/10 mL for subcutaneous use

INDICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF USE

FUROSCIX® is indicated for the treatment of congestion due to fluid overload in adult patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II and Class III chronic heart failure.

FUROSCIX is not indicated for use in emergency situations or in patients with acute pulmonary edema. The On-Body Infusor will deliver only an 80-mg dose of FUROSCIX.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

FUROSCIX is contraindicated in patients with anuria, patients with a history of hypersensitivity to furosemide or medical adhesives and in patients with hepatic cirrhosis or ascites.

Furosemide may cause fluid, electrolyte, and metabolic abnormalities, particularly in patients receiving higher doses, patients with inadequate oral electrolyte intake, and in elderly patients. Serum electrolytes, CO2, BUN, creatinine, glucose, and uric acid should be monitored frequently during furosemide therapy.

Excessive diuresis may cause dehydration and blood volume reduction with circulatory collapse and possibly vascular thrombosis and embolism, particularly in elderly patients.

In patients with hepatic cirrhosis and ascites, sudden alterations of fluid and electrolyte balance may precipitate hepatic encephalopathy and coma. Treatment in such patients is best initiated in the hospital.

Furosemide can cause dehydration and azotemia. If increasing azotemia and oliguria occur during treatment of severe progressive renal disease, furosemide should be discontinued.

Cases of tinnitus and reversible or irreversible hearing impairment and deafness have been reported with furosemide. Reports usually indicate that furosemide ototoxicity is associated with rapid injection, severe renal impairment, the use of higher than recommended doses, hypoproteinemia or concomitant therapy with aminoglycoside antibiotics, ethacrynic acid, or other ototoxic drugs.

In patients with severe symptoms of urinary retention (because of bladder emptying disorders, prostatic hyperplasia, urethral narrowing), the administration of furosemide can cause acute urinary retention related to increased production and retention of urine. These patients require careful monitoring, especially during the initial stages of treatment.

For more details, please read the full Prescribing Information at FUROSCIX.com/prescribing-information.pdf and Instructions for Use at FUROSCIX.com/instructions-for-use.pdf. 

About scPharmaceuticals

scPharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products that are designed to reduce healthcare costs and improve health outcomes. The Company develops, internally and through strategic partnerships, innovative products and solutions that aim to expand and advance the outpatient care of select acute conditions. The Company’s lead programs focus on the subcutaneous, self-administration of IV-strength treatments in heart failure and infectious disease. scPharmaceuticals is headquartered in Burlington, MA. For more information, please visit www.scPharmaceuticals.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the significance and potential impact of the results of clinical trials and clinical data; the interpretation and analyses of the results from clinical trials; expectations regarding the potential market impact of FUROSCIX; the preparation and timing of commercial launch and the success of such commercialization; and the potential benefits, expected costs and future plans and expectations for FUROSCIX. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that results of a clinical study do not necessarily predict final results and that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change following more comprehensive reviews of the data, and as more patient data become available, the risk that results of a clinical study are subject to interpretation and additional analyses may be needed and/or may contradict such results, the risk of the ability of the FUROSCIX On-Body Infusor to appropriately deliver therapy, the receipt of regulatory approval for any of our product candidates or, if approved, the successful commercialization of such products, the risk of cessation or delay of any of the ongoing or planned clinical trials and/or our development of our product candidates, the risk that the results of previously conducted studies will not be repeated or observed in ongoing or future studies involving our product candidates, risks related to manufacturing and quality assurances processes, and the risk that the current COVID-19 pandemic will impact the Company’s device validation, drug stability testing, and other operations. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties and other important factors in the Company’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and the Company undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

Katherine Taudvin
scPharmaceuticals Inc., 781-301-6706
ktaudvin@scpharma.com

Investors:
Hans Vitzthum
LifeSci Advisors, 617-430-7578
hans@lifesciadvisors.com 

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¹ SmartDose® and the external product configuration of West’s SmartDose® drug delivery platform are the registered trademark and intellectual property of West Pharma. Services IL, Ltd., a subsidiary of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., in the United States and other countries.