Scios Natrecor Enters Ph III For Heart Failure

Scios has begun Phase III clinical studies of Natrecor (brain natriuretic peptide) for the treatment of acute congestive heart failure. The studies will involve over 300 patients at over 50 centers in the USA.

Scios will not initially attempt to demonstrate that Natrecor can have an impact on CHF mortality. The Phase III program is designed to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the drug in the short-term treatment of CHF. "Recent clinical studies have demonstrated that [Natrecor] exhibits several properties that improve the status of patients suffering from acute CHF," commented cardiologist Wilson Colucci of Boston University.

The evidence for Natrecor's potential activity in CHF comes largely from a number of clinical studies, some of which were presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in March earlier this year, which showed that administration of the compound to patients suffering from CHF led to significant improvements in established measures of heart function, such as pulmonary capillary wedge pressure and cardiac index.