Biogen has administered the last rites to its collaboration with Sage Therapeutics on SAGE-324, scrapping the alliance in the aftermath of a failed study that precluded further development in essential tremor.
In July, Biogen and Sage reported the failure of GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulator SAGE-324, also called BIIB124, to beat placebo on a measure of upper limb tremors. The partners responded to the failure by closing an open-label safety study and abandoning plans to run further SAGE-324 trials in essential tremor.
At the time, Sage said it would work with Biogen to evaluate whether to take SAGE-324 forward in other indications. Two months of deliberations have failed to convince Biogen to continue developing the drug candidate. The collaboration will end in February, and Sage will resume full ownership of the asset. Sage and Biogen will continue to partner on Zurzuvae, which won FDA approval last year to treat postpartum depression.
A resurrection of SAGE-324 is still possible. Sage said it “plans to continue to evaluate other potential indications, if any, for SAGE-324.” On a July earnings call, executives sidestepped an analyst’s question about which indications were under consideration.
One certainty is that Biogen has shut off a potentially significant source of money for Sage. Biogen picked up rights to SAGE-324 in 2020 as part of a deal that also covered depression drug candidate zuranolone, which is now sold as Zurzuvae. Biogen paid $875 million upfront and invested $650 million into Sage to get the deal off the ground.
The essential tremor failure deprived Sage of the chance to receive up to $150 million in development milestones related to the indication. Biogen was also on the hook for $520 million tied to regulatory and commercial milestones for SAGE-324, plus up to $300 million linked to the achievement of specified net sales milestones.