Sage Therapeutics to lay off 40% of staff as it gears up for launch of post-partum depression treatment
Sage Therapeutics Inc. (SAGE) said Thursday it is reorganizing its business operations and workforce as it gears up for the launch of its post partum depression treatment Zurzuvae in late 2023. The move includes a 40% reduction in its workforce as well as a plan to advance SAGE-718 and SAGE-324, while pausing other earlier-stage programs. As of Feb. 2023, the company had 689 full-time employees, according to its 10-K annual report filing with the SEC. The company also plans to align its leadership team structure to scale with pipeline and commercial goals. Al Robichaud, its chief scientific officer since its founding 2011, has decided to leave the company, but will remains as a consultant and member of its Medicinal Chemistry and Pre-Clinical Scientific Advisory Boards. Robichaud will be replaced by Mike Quirk, who is currently SVP of discovery research. Chief Development Officer Jim Doherty, who is a founding member of Sage, will leave the company to pursue new opportunities. The company is expecting annualized net savings of about $240 million from the moves, about 60% of which is related to R&D. It expects to book a one-time charge of about $36 million to $38 million mostly in the third quarter. The company has the potential to earn a milestone payment of $75 million from Biogen related to the first commercial sale of Zurzuvae. It has cash of about $1.0 billion as of June 30. The FDA approved the company's Zurzuvae treatment for postpartum depression in early August. But it did not approve it for major depressive disorder which has a far bigger potential patient base. The stock has fallen 48% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 17.6%.
-Ciara Linnane
This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-31-23 0800ET
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.-
5 Undervalued Stocks to Buy to Play a Little Defense
-
Markets Brief: AI Leaders Excel In Earnings Season So Far
-
What History Tells Us About the Fed’s Next Move
-
What’s Happening In the Markets This Week
-
Alphabet’s New Dividend: What Investors Need to Know
-
Going Into Earnings, Is Palantir Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?
-
Going Into Earnings, Is Eli Lilly Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?
-
What’s the Difference Between the CPI and PCE Indexes?
-
Eli Lilly Earnings: Strong Weight-Loss Drug Sales Expand Margins
-
What the Fed’s QT Program Is, and Why Its End Matters
-
After Earnings, Is Meta Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?
-
After Earnings, Is Boeing Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?
-
The 10 Best Companies to Invest in Now
-
Paramount Earnings: CEO Has Gone, For-Sale Sign Is Up; Good Results Would’ve Been Nice to Learn
-
After Earnings, Is Tesla Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?
-
After Earnings, Is GE Aerospace Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?