SAGE Therapeutics Inc at BMO Capital Markets Growth & ESG Conference (Virtual) Transcript

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

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Good. So since there are some investors listening in that may not be as familiar with your story, describe what the company's overall strategy has been with respect to drug development in CNS and what your key strengths are in that area. And then with the recent transformational collaboration with Biogen that you just announced for 2 of your key products, zuranolone and SAGE-324, how do you see Sage evolving over the next several years to become more of a fully vertically integrated biopharma company? So...

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Yes.

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Okay. So just picking up on that, Mike, just in terms of the deal, since you announced it, and it does seem very compelling. It's such a reputable partner with deep pockets, so it makes sense on so many levels. Just why do you think the stock hasn't reacted in the way that you probably thought it would? What do you think people are underappreciating about the deal? And then specifically, you touched on -- you said people asked questions about the timing. You have a couple of big value drivers next year, both with zuranolone and 324, so I think that was definitely part of it, people wondering, oh, why now as opposed to waiting for those value drivers to hit. So maybe touch on those points a little bit.

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Okay. That's a great perspective, both of you. Steve, we'll get to 718 a little bit later. But my last question just on the deal itself. Like you said, I mean, these things don't happen overnight. So clearly, you had been in discussions with Biogen about potential partnership or other types of things that you could do with them for a while. Maybe some people could appreciate why Biogen a little bit more. Talk about how competitive the process may have been. Were there other companies that you were looking at? And I'm sure you could spend like a half hour talking about why you ended up with them, but maybe like the top 3 things that you think Biogen is bringing to the table that made them win the deal.

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Okay. Great. Let's get into zuranolone. There's so much to talk about. Steve, maybe you could just set the table a little bit. And in the interest of time, just in a couple of minutes, just talk about the data sets that are out there, high level, what you've shown, the recent data, SHORELINE in the 30-milligram dose, also the 6-month data for MOUNTAIN and maybe how that contributed to Biogen ultimately getting comfortable with everything that Mike just talked about. And then we'll get into what happens from here. And anything as you have discussions with Biogen that you think might change in a meaningful way on the depression side before we talk about the additional indications?

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Yes. I knew I could just ask you a question on zuranolone [and you could speed up] the rest of the time.

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Right. So just getting back to the MOUNTAIN study, which failed the primary. But like you said, there were a lot of things that you learned from it. So 2 things, first, talk about patient severity. And across the different studies that you're conducting now, if you realize -- just because of the placebo effect, we need to go higher on the HAM-D baseline just to make sure we have more severe patients if that's an important factor that you built into the ongoing studies. And then just in terms of the dosing, explore the 30, look good, going to have data on the 50. Why not even a little bit higher? You've shown a really good safety profile, why you think 50 is the right dose. And again, I know you could spend a lot of time on it. There's a lot there. Just take a few minutes to address those 2 specifically.

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Yes. Dosing, the 50-milligram versus going even higher potentially. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. DECEMBER 09, 2020 / 8:00PM, SAGE.OQ - SAGE Therapeutics Inc at BMO Capital Markets Growth & ESG Conference (Virtual)

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Okay. Right. Great. In the interest of time, I want to move on a little bit. So let's go to the additional indication that Mike talked about, you talked about that both you and Biogen are excited about, anxiety, bipolar disorder. So what proof-of-concept data is there for those indications that gets you excited that it's worth spending a whole bunch of money on it? And also, the paradigm shift that you're trying to do in depression, acute, as-needed treatment, will that apply to those conditions as well potentially? Will it be a similar type of paradigm shift?

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Okay. But presumably, next step for these indications would be Phase II dose ranging, right? Because some of the work that you've done, probably lower doses of zuranolone, so you'll need to look at the 30, the 50. Or would you just -- could you potentially go right into Phase III? That's up for discussion with Biogen.

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Okay. Let's spend a couple of minutes on 324, similar mechanism to zuranolone. So just talk about how these molecules differ, why you decided to take 324 into essential tremor. And that's arguably even more in the sweet spot for Biogen, right, just given they're currently commercializing products. So there had to be a fair amount of excitement around that program. So what should we expect with the data that we're going to see in the first quarter of next year?

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Okay. So on the acceleration point, since, clearly -- I mean that was the main reason for the collaboration. But Steve, I mean, the way you guys have done drug development, you've been very disciplined and you have to take a certain approach. So I do question how much you could accelerate certain programs different from the way you were doing it. So maybe you could just enlighten us on that. Or is it more just having all of these running in parallel so we're not just looking at essential tremor, we're also evaluating epilepsy and Parkinson's at the same time?

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Okay. We only have a few minutes, so I'm going to ask a really quick one on 718, which is -- I know you guys are super excited about it. You talked a little bit about some of the data that you've shown so far. You could expand into other areas as well potentially. You'll evaluate that as the data come through. But why wasn't this part of the collaboration? And I know you still wanted to remain an independent company. Is it something that Biogen was interested in? I can't see why they weren't. And is it possible, considering some of the markets you would be going after, that it could be partnered with Biogen or someone else at some point down the road? Or do you really want to just keep that baby for yourself?

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Okay. In the last minute or so, since this is the growth and ESG conference, just spend literally a minute, now 30 seconds as I'm talking, just as a company in -- you mentioned this earlier with COVID, brain health. Clearly, you're filling an important role with your drug development. Maybe it's being appreciated now more than ever. But what are some other things internally that you guys are trying to do? And did that line up well with Biogen in terms of thinking of a long-term partner here, a marriage, so to speak? Did they also have to check that box? And did they have to think the same about you? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. DECEMBER 09, 2020 / 8:00PM, SAGE.OQ - SAGE Therapeutics Inc at BMO Capital Markets Growth & ESG Conference (Virtual)

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Okay. That's a great way to end this chat. We are up on time. So thank you both, Steve and Mike, for being here.

Question: Gary Jay Nachman - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Anne and Jeff, and obviously we're glad to have them back. You did a great job. Thank you. All right. You guys have a good day.