Sage’s quick flip into PhIII crashes as lead drug fails badly for rare type of seizures
After building intense interest in its lead drug for super-refractory status epilepticus with data from tiny studies, Sage Therapeutics $SAGE says the drug failed badly in Phase III.
Comparing brexanolone (SAGE-547) with a placebo, the drug acted just like a sugar pill, with a 43.9% response for the drug compared to 42.4% in the placebo arm — and a miserable p-value of 0.8775.
Sage’s shares dropped more than 20% on the news. But by the afternoon the biotech had trimmed its losses, with the stock down about 14% — a modest retreat given the bad judgment this biotech has shown.
Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.
You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.