Sage stock plunges 20% after failed drug trial
Parkinson’s treatment dropped in new setback for Cambridge biotech
Shares of Sage Therapeutics closed down nearly 20 percent Wednesday after the Cambridge biotech announced that its experimental drug for mild cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson’s disease failed a mid-stage study.
Sage said it would scrap the medicine, called dalzanemdor, as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s because it failed to perform better than a placebo.
“We are disappointed by the results of the [mid-stage] study given the significant burden
‘We are disappointed by the results of the [mid-stage] study.’
BARRY GREENE, Sage Therapeutics CEO
of mild cognitive impairment on people and families affected by Parkinson’s Disease,” Barry Greene, Sage’s chief executive, said in a statement.
It was the latest setback for Sage, which in August announced it would lay off 40 percent of its workforce, roughly 275 employees, and shake up its leadership team. The layoffs followed a decision that month by federal regulators to approve the firm’s new drug for postpartum depression but not for major depressive disorder, a far bigger market. That new drug, Zurzuvae, was co-developed by Cambridgebased Biogen.
Sage is also testing dalzanemdor in two midstage trials on cognitive impairment that stems from two other neurological disorders, Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. The results of those studies are expected later this year. Greene said dalzanemdor’s failure in Parkinson’s shouldn’t dampen hopes for its potential to treat those conditions.
The way Parkinson’s affects the brain and causes symptoms is “distinctive,” Greene said,
adding that “these results do not necessarily predict results with dalzanemdor in other neurodegenerative conditions.”
Brian Abrahams, an analyst for RBC Capital Markets, was skeptical.
“We believe that confidence in these subsequent trials may be negatively impacted given the lack of any improvement in cognition” in the Parkinson’s study, he said.
Sage compared how 86 Parkinson’s patients who received either dalzanemdor or a placebo once a day fared on a test called the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale after six weeks. The drug made no statistically significant difference.
Parkinson’s is a brain disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination, according to the National Institute on Aging. Symptoms usually begin gradually and worsen over time.
Some people with Parkinson’s experience mild cognitive impairment, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Feelings of distraction or disorganization can occur, along with finding it hard to focus, plan, and accomplish tasks.
With Sage’s decision to shelve dalzanemdor for Parkinson’s, attention will turn to the company’s first-quarter financial results on April 25. Sage is expected to have an update on sales of Zurzuvae, the new drug for postpartum depression, which has a list price of $15,900 for a 14-day course of treatment.