SAGE Therapeutics Inc at Goldman Sachs Global Healthcare Conference Transcript

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

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : To start here, Barry, can you give us a brief overview of the company today, following the recent launch of ZURZUVAE and your strategy for commercial and pipeline execution heading into the second half of the year.

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : What part of the Sage story do you think is underappreciated by the Street when you look at the progress that's playing out with the launch and the pipeline? Help us understand that aspect, but also what you're most excited about over the next 12 months.

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Can you speak to -- maybe starting with the ZURZUVAE here. Let's talk about the feedback that you're getting from patients and prescribers in terms of just overall demand and how that's translating?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : And with regard to the OB-GYN who clearly led prescriptions here in the first quarter, what are the factors that are really driving the uptake in that population?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : That is really exciting. Do you see prescribers writing scripts for ZURZUVAE in the first line or post-SSRIs, SNRIs? Are you seeing patients staying on treatment for the whole 14-day period, or are discontinuations here starting to play out?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : And could you provide some color of the process at which OB-GYN, psychiatrists, and PCPs are diagnosing PPD and what the screening process does look like? And I think in the past too you talked about how you would identify patients pre the situation, meaning, patients who have depression and which could lead to postpartum depression? But maybe help us understand how all of that is working together?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Could you speak to the status of your partnership with Biogen in terms of how you're dividing out responsibilities here?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Could you speak to payer policies and the free-drug programs? Maybe to start here on the prior authorizations, could you speak to how that is playing out right now under current plans?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : And if the one point -- or the 1,200 prescriptions that were written in the first quarter. Can you share the percentage covered by payers versus those falling under that free drug program?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : And you've also noted that expectations for gross to net here to be much lower than other branded agents, given it's the only oral agent for PPD and there's a novel mechanism and an unmet need here. Given you're further along in the coverage process, do you have an understanding of where this might end up?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Great. And then just speak very quickly to how we should think about shipments and stocking, how we should also think about the digital promotion efforts that you have here? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JUNE 12, 2024 / 6:00PM, SAGE.OQ - SAGE Therapeutics Inc at Goldman Sachs Global Healthcare Conference

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Shifting over to major depressive disorder. Where do you -- I guess, what is the future of the pathway for this drug in that indication?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : You have a pretty deep pipeline with data sets that have started to play out, maybe starting with 324 here. Could you frame expectations ahead of the mid-2024 Phase 2b KINETIC 2 data in essential tremor, what would make you confident to move this forward into a Phase 3?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : And what's the rationale behind evaluating the TETRAS subscale item for endpoint, considering completing trials are looking at different endpoints here?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : And you've seen some competitive news in this space with regard to Neurocrine and Praxis and what's played out there. And I think we're going to see data from Jazz late -- I guess, soon. How do you think about your mechanism in the context of the others and how you might differentiate yourselves versus the script?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Maybe, for 718 here, you're evaluating the drug in multiple disorders. So give us a sense of, on a per disorder basis, where you stand with achieving proof of concept at this time point?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Maybe in the last few minutes we have left, two quick questions. One is on SAGE-319 and 421. When can we get updates on them and how to think about the go, no-go there? And then just given all these programs you have, how are you thinking about resource allocations and capital allocation at this point?

Question: Salveen Jaswal Richter - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Great. So with that, Barry and Laura, thank you so much.