Contrary to what you may think, heart failure isn't a sudden stoppage of the heart. It's a slow menace that, over time, weakens the heart until it is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.
Heart failure can happen when the heart can't draw in enough blood, and it can also happen when the heart can no longer pump blood out with sufficient force. Patients can experience right-side heart failure, which prevents sufficient blood volume from pumping to the lungs, or left-side heart failure, which affects the rest of the body.
One major symptom of heart failure is fluid buildup. Fluid typically accrues in the legs and ankles, in the abdomen and in the lungs. Patients experience fatigue, shortness of breath and swelling. Patients with pulmonary edema, or fluid buildup in their lungs, often experience a cough that gets worse when they lie down.
Currently, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute estimates that 5.8 million Americans have heart failure. Although the condition has no cure, diuretics – which help the body to eliminate fluid – are a common treatment.
scPharmaceuticals in Boston has created a proprietary reworking of an old diuretic drug called furosemide, currently given either by a tablet or by intravenous injection. scPharmaceuticals has developed a version that can be administered subcutaneously, or just under the skin.
In addition, the company has partnered with Sensile Medical Holding AG of Switzerland, which manufactures micro-pumps and patch-pumps. Sensile will develop a pump that will administer scPharmaceuticals's version of furosemide.
scPharmaceuticals will reportedly submit a New Drug Application for both the drug and the device no later than Q1 2015.
When patients begin to experience the symptoms of fluid buildup, they can potentially activate the mini-pump instead of traveling to a hospital for emergency treatment.
Furosemide is usually administered under a doctor's supervision because the drug has potentially dangerous side effects. Patients who have liver disease, diabetes, kidney disease, gout or lupus may experience a worsening of their conditions.
Patients can also experience blurred vision, dehydration, digestive problems, sun sensitivity, tinnitus and fainting.
scPharmaceuticals and Sensile, however, believe their drug/pump combo can be successfully self-administered by patients. "The Affordable Care Act has created an urgent need for novel therapies that offer benefits comparable to those achieved by intravenously administered drugs in the hospital, but which can be administered anytime, anywhere by the patient," said Pieter Muntendam, MD, president and CEO at scPharmaceuticals.
Edited by
Braden Becker
