SAGE Therapeutics Inc Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Anupam Rama - JPMorgan - Analyst : I know it's only been a few weeks but wondering what color you can provide on what you're seeing on script trends from the sales force expansion. Thanks so much.

Question: Shrunatra Mishra - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Hi guys. This is Shrunatra on for Salveen. Thanks for taking our question. Just a couple from our side. Could you speak to your early-stage pipeline? And if we'll be seeing any data there next year or the indications for SAGE-319. And also regarding the Specialty Pharma process for ZURZUVAE, any color on the optimization there. And if there's been any reduction in the lag between the prescription through the (inaudible) shift.

Question: Yasmeen Rahimi - Piper Sandler Companies - Analyst : First of all, Kimi, it's been great working with you and you'll be greatly missed. Same goes to Chris to all of you. And thank you for your contribution at Sage, just want to maybe start that. And in terms of my question, I guess given the setbacks recently around pipeline products, what evidence can you point us to get clients excited going into the Huntington's disease read-out here at year end? Appreciate color.

Question: Jay Olson - Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. - Analyst : Thanks for providing this update. Could you please talk about the Talkiatry collaboration that Biogen has initiated and the potential for that opportunity to drive uptake and PPD through telehealth? Thank you.

Question: Chi Wen Chin - TD Cowen - Analyst : Hi. This is Athena on for Ritu. Thanks for taking the question. Another on your early-stage pipeline. What is your timeline to unveiling promising early-stage assets with cost effective development? And would these assets also be neuro focused or neuropsych focused? Thank you.

Question: Ami Fadia - Needham & Company Inc. - Analyst : With regards to some of the efforts in conjunction with Biogen to support women that are ending up being treated by a psychiatrist rather than an OB/GYN, can you just step back and give us a sense of how the market dynamics or how the market is split with regards to the number of women that actually get seen by an OB/GYN versus a psychiatrist and help us understand also from the sense of the severity of PPD, if you've been able to get a better sense of how the severity level of these patients differs across the market, that would be helpful. Thank you.

Question: Brian Abrahams - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : I'm curious, what will you guys be looking for in DIMENSION on SDMT and across the secondary endpoints in order to move dalzanemdor forward. Would signals and trend -- or trends across all or some of these endpoints be enough? And how is the bar evolved given the decision -- since the decision to restructure and refocus resources? Thanks.

Question: Tazeen Ahmad - BofA Global Research - Analyst : On ZURZUVAE, can you potentially give us a little bit of color on breadth and depth of use? Are most of the scripts coming from physicians who have had experience prescribing it before and are adding to their prescriptions for other patients? And can you just talk about the rate with which you're adding new prescribers now relative to when the launch first started? And then to go back to MDD, can you give us a little bit of color on the details around your decision to not pursue MDD? Is it that the trial would be difficult to design or is it more that you feel you want to focus your resources on PPD? Thanks.

Question: Morgan Gryga - Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC - Analyst : This is Morgan on for Vikram. So we have two. First, what magnitude of sales uplift do you think that the recent sales force expansion for ZURZUVAE could drive? And how -- over what period of time in terms of months or quarters do you think it'll take to see this pull through? And then our second question is, do you think that the current ZURZUVAE sales force is rightly sized or could there be any additional investments into the sales force in 2025? Thank you.

Question: Uy Ear - Mizuho Securities USA, LLC - Analyst : So first question is, could you maybe elaborate a bit on coverage, particularly with, I guess, Medicaid reviews? I think in the last quarter, you were saying that several large states were conducting reviews. I was just wondering, how much more coverage have you gotten from Medicaid versus commercialized? And second question, would you give the number of prescriptions that were written in 3Qs? I might have missed; I didn't see in the press release. Thanks.

Question: Alex Nackenoff - Raymond James - Analyst : Hey guys, this is Alex on for Danielle. Thanks for taking the question. Question on through ZURZUVAE. Just wondering how much insight you have into the ZURZUVAE patient demographics. Just curious if you have any visibility whether ZURZUVAE is being prescribed to mothers with a prior history of PPD or MDD for that matter. And additionally, curious whether you're able to see a breakdown of percent of patients prescribed ZURZUVAE who are first-time mothers versus those having their second or third child, for example. Thanks.

Question: Joel Beatty - Robert W. Baird & Co. - Analyst : Maybe a follow-up to the last question is how is the use of ZURZUVAE in patients who are already on a treatment for depression? Is that a setting for growth and do OB/GYN feel comfortable prescribing there or is that more a setting who has ever been managing the depression?

Question: Marc Goodman - Leerink Partners - Analyst : Yeah. Two questions. One, Barry, on business development, are you looking outside at all for new products or should we be thinking internally developed? And those products that we've talked about in the past that are pre-clinical and moving forward and that's how we should think about your pipeline. And then just the other question is, can you talk about the inventory change? In the quarter, you were 5.5 weeks last quarter, where are you at the end of the third quarter? And how much revenue did that eat into what you actually reported? Thanks.

Question: Marc Goodman - Leerink Partners - Analyst : No, I was going to say, didn't you say that your target was three to four weeks or? I think I heard that maybe last quarter. Is that correct? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. OCTOBER 29, 2024 / 8:30PM, SAGE.OQ - Q3 2024 SAGE Therapeutics Inc Earnings Call