scPharmaceuticals received $75 million through a combination of debt and royalty financings at close, with access to an additional $50 million
The term loan refinances existing debt principal; lowers coupon, extends interest-only period for four additional years, and lowers minimum cash requirement to $5 million
BURLINGTON, Mass., Aug. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — scPharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: SCPH) (the “Company”), 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 non-dilutive financings totaling up to $125 million with funds managed by Perceptive Advisors ("Perceptive"), a leading life-sciences focused investor.
Proceeds from the transactions will be used to repay existing debt, as well as to fund activities related to the ongoing commercialization of FUROSCIX, the Company’s proprietary formulation of furosemide indicated for the treatment of congestion due to fluid overload in adult patients, including patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class IV chronic heart failure.
“We have a unique opportunity with FUROSCIX to positively impact heart failure patient outcomes while reducing preventable healthcare costs, and these non-dilutive financings provide us with ample resources to continue to pursue those goals,” stated John Tucker, Chief Executive Officer of scPharmaceuticals. “We are excited to partner with Perceptive and look forward to working with them as we continue to grow as a company.”
“We are pleased to partner with scPharmaceuticals as it advances its mission to make FUROSCIX a key component of a new heart failure treatment paradigm,” stated Sam Chawla, Portfolio Manager of Perceptive Advisors’ credit funds. “By leveraging intervention opportunities both pre-hospital admission and post-discharge, FUROSCIX has the potential to reduce unnecessary hospital utilization, thereby improving patient quality of life while driving significant cost savings for health care payers. It is this kind of innovation that we strive to support, and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership.”
$75 Million Senior Secured Loan
scPharma has entered into a $75 million senior secured term loan agreement with Perceptive. Approximately $50 million will be provided to the Company at close, which will refinance its existing debt. The term loan has a five-year term with no mandatory principal balance repayments due until maturity. The new term loan, compared to the Company’s current debt facility, extends mandatory repayments by approximately four years and lowers the minimum cash requirement to $5 million. Interest accrues at a rate equivalent to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) + 6.75% (with a SOFR floor of 3.25%).
$50 Million Revenue Interest Financing
The Company also entered into a $50 million capped revenue interest financing with Perceptive. Under the agreement, Perceptive will be entitled to receive tiered single-digit royalties of global net sales of FUROSCIX. Royalties to Perceptive will initially be capped at 1.6x the purchase price, subject to a maximum of 2.0x the purchase price, under certain conditions. There are no “make whole” or “catch up” payments in the royalty financing. Upon achievement of the cap amount, the royalty agreement will terminate. The Company also maintains the option to buy-out the royalty agreement at 1.4x the purchase price, less royalties paid to date, for the first two years, and at the cap thereafter.
TD Cowen served as exclusive financial advisor and Latham & Watkins served as legal advisor to scPharma. Morrison Foerster served as legal advisor to Perceptive.
FUROSCIX® (furosemide injection) 80 mg/10mL for subcutaneous use
FUROSCIX® is indicated for the treatment of congestion due to fluid overload in adult patients with chronic heart failure.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
FUROSCIX is contraindicated in patients with anuria, patients with a history of hypersensitivity to furosemide, any component of the FUROSCIX formulation or medical adhesives and in patients with hepatic cirrhosis.
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.
Furosemide can cause dehydration and azotemia. If increasing azotemia and oliguria occur during treatment of severe progressive renal disease, discontinue furosemide.
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.
Contact with water or other fluids and certain patient movements during treatment may cause the On-body Infusor to prematurely terminate infusion. Ensure patients can detect and respond to alarms. The most common adverse reactions with FUROSCIX administration in clinical trials were site and skin reactions including erythema, bruising, edema, and injection site pain.
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.
About Perceptive Advisors
Founded in 1999, Perceptive Advisors focuses on supporting progress in the life sciences industry by identifying opportunities and directing financial resources toward the most promising technologies in modern healthcare. Today, the firm manages approximately $8 billion across our strategies. For more information about Perceptive, visit www.perceptivelife.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
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 debt and royalty financings providing non-dilutive capital and funding to repay existing debt, as well as to fund activities related to the ongoing commercialization of FUROSCIX, statements regarding the future availability of funds under the debt facility and the ability of the Company to reach certain net sales milestones under the royalty financing, the potential benefits of Perceptive’ s funding and partnership to the Company, and the potential for FUROSCIX to positively impact heart failure patient outcomes while reducing preventable healthcare costs. 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, we have a history of significant operating losses and expect to incur significant and increasing losses for the foreseeable future; we may never achieve or maintain profitability; we may need additional funding and may be unable to raise capital when needed, which would force us to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts; the terms of our credit facility place restrictions on our operating and financial flexibility, and we may not have cash available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to make interest or principal payments on our indebtedness when due; clinical and preclinical development involves a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome, and any difficulties or delays in the commencement or completion, or the termination or the potential for the results from any clinical trials to support submission of sNDAs or comparable regulatory applications; if we are unable to expand our sales and marketing capabilities or continue to enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell FUROSCIX, we may be unable to generate any revenue; we have a limited operating history and no history of commercializing pharmaceutical products, which may make it difficult to evaluate the prospects for our future success. 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 sections entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 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 Miranda
scPharmaceuticals Inc., 781-301-6869
kmiranda@scpharma.com
Investors:
PJ Kelleher
LifeSci Advisors, 617-430-7579