Sage Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAGE) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Barry Greene: Yes, I’ll quickly take the SAGE-324 question and ask Mike to comment on 718. So, the half-life of 324 is sufficient for coverage when taken at night for the next day. We’re not worried about that. We believe that the drug effect will last in multiple days actually. So, we’re really trying to get to a steady blood serum level that translate to a steady level in the brain. Mike, you want to talk about SAGE-718?

Mike Quirk: Yes. And I think the point when we’re thinking about SAGE-718 and its role as a modulator of NMDA receptors is, while we gained insight from the endogenous modulator 24s hydroxycholesterol, we’ve also done quite a bit of work with SAGE-718 and other similar molecules that we’ve worked on to show that it does not require there to be low levels of 24s for SAGE-718 and similar molecules to work. They work on different ways of impacting NMDA receptor function. So, we’ve been able to show that if you have hypofunction due to a genetic change, a pharmacological change, any way that you have a loss of NMDA receptor function, you can rescue those deficits with molecules such as 718. So, in the context of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, we believe that there’s a strong rationale for NMDA receptor dysfunction, even if the proximal mechanism is not related to oxysterol changes per se.

And again, that’s why we’ve designed the 718 program to look at different patient populations where we think that there’s an underlying cause of NMDA receptor impairment regardless of the specific mechanism driving that change.

Operator: Thank you. That will conclude the Q&A portion of today’s call. With that, I will turn it back over to Mr. Greene for closing remarks.

Barry Greene: Thanks, Karen. And thanks, everyone, for joining us this morning to review our results from the fourth quarter and full year 2023. As we look ahead to the ongoing launch of ZURZUVAE and enter a catalyst-rich 2024, with multiple data readouts expected, I’m highly confident that we’re making important progress to deliver on our mission, to develop and launch life-changing brain health medicines so every person can thrive. Thanks again, everyone, and have a great day.

Operator: This concludes today’s call. Thank you again for your participation. You may now disconnect, and have a great day.