(Bloomberg) -- Sage Therapeutics Inc. plunged after a mid-stage study of its drug to treat essential tremor failed, the second setback for its pipeline in three months.
The medicine didn’t significantly reduce tremor severity in the upper limbs, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company said. Sage and its partner, Biogen Inc., aren’t planning further development of the drug, which aimed to treat the neurological condition that causes involuntary and rhythmic shaking.
Sage fell as much as 25% in early trading. Shares have plummeted 52% so far this year and have been trading near record lows. Biogen was little changed.
Brian Abrahams, a biotech analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said he had “very low expectations” for the essential tremor study since prior data showed the drug has poor tolerability and modest efficacy.
The results mark the latest setback for Sage, a neuroscience-focused drugmaker. In April, shares fell almost 20% after the company said its Parkinson’s disease drug failed to meet the main goal in a study.
Biogen investors are heavily focused on sales of the company’s Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi, which is partnered with Eisai Co. But the failure in essential tremor does “limit pipeline expansion opportunities for the company,” said Evan Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets.
Sage, best known for the postpartum depression pill Zurzuvae that it sells with Biogen, is highly dependent on the success of the experimental medicine it’s developing for Huntington’s disease, a neurodegenerative illness, Abrahams said.
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