Nature of the Business |
3 Months Ended | ||
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Mar. 31, 2022 | |||
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract] | |||
Nature of the Business |
Sage Therapeutics, Inc. (“Sage” or the “Company”) is a biopharmaceutical company with a mission to pioneer solutions to deliver life-changing brain health medicines, so every person can thrive. The Company’s first product, ZULRESSO® (brexanolone) CIV injection, is approved in the U.S. as a treatment for postpartum depression (“PPD”) in adults. The Company launched ZULRESSO commercially in the U.S. in June 2019. The Company has a portfolio of other product candidates with a current focus on modulating two critical central nervous system (“CNS”) receptor systems, GABA and NMDA. The GABA receptor family, which is recognized as the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS, mediates downstream neurologic and bodily function via activation of GABAA receptors. The NMDA-type receptors of the glutamate receptor system are a major excitatory receptor system in the CNS. Dysfunction in these systems is implicated in a broad range of CNS disorders. The Company is currently targeting diseases and disorders of the brain with three key focus areas: depression, neurology and neuropsychiatry. The Company was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on April 16, 2010, and commenced operations on January 19, 2011 as Sterogen Biopharma, Inc. On September 13, 2011, the Company changed its name to Sage Therapeutics, Inc. Risks and Uncertainties The Company is subject to risks and uncertainties common to companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including, but not limited to, the risks associated with developing product candidates at each stage of non-clinical and clinical development; the challenges associated with gaining regulatory approval of such product candidates; the risks associated with the marketing and sale of pharmaceutical products; the potential for development by third parties of new technological innovations that may compete with the Company’s products and product candidates; the dependence on key personnel; the challenges of protecting proprietary technology; the need to comply with government regulations; the high costs of drug development; the uncertainty of being able to secure additional capital when needed to fund operations; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its development activities, operations and financial condition. The product candidates developed by the Company require approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) or foreign regulatory agencies prior to commercial sales. There can be no assurance that the current and future product candidates of the Company will receive, or that the Company’s current product, ZULRESSO, will maintain, the necessary approvals. If the Company fails to successfully complete clinical development and generate results sufficient to file for regulatory approval or is denied approval or approval is delayed for any of its product candidates, such occurrences may have a material adverse impact on the Company’s business and its financial statements. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused and may continue to cause major disruptions to businesses and economies worldwide. The rapid spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. resulted in a significant reduction in patient demand for ZULRESSO and in the number of sites available to administer ZULRESSO. This has had a negative impact on the Company’s revenue from sales of ZULRESSO. While the Company has not experienced any other material disruptions to date as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, any prolonged material disruptions to the work of the Company’s employees, suppliers, contract manufacturers, or vendors could negatively impact the Company’s activities, availability of supplies, or operating results. While the Company has seen slower recruitment in certain of its clinical trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with respect to older patients and in the SKYLARK Study in patients with PPD, which caused the Company to revise its expected timeline for reporting topline data from that study, the Company to date has not experienced other significant impacts to the Company’s development activities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Any material disruption to the Company’s development activities may cause delays, increase the Company’s costs and impact the Company’s operating results. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic initially caused major volatility in capital markets and a significant global economic downturn, and the Company’s ability to access the capital markets in the future could be negatively impacted if current efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic are not successful or if there are long-term negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, even after the pandemic has subsided. Going Concern
Under Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements—Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40), the Company has the responsibility to evaluate whether conditions and/or events raise substantial doubt about its ability to meet its future financial obligations as they become due within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. The Company has incurred losses and negative cash flows from operations since its inception, except for net income of $606.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, reflecting revenue recognized under a collaboration and license agreement with Biogen MA Inc. (“BIMA”) and Biogen International GmbH (collectively with BIMA, “Biogen”) (the “Biogen Collaboration Agreement”). As of March 31, 2022, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $1.6 billion. From its inception through March 31, 2022, the Company has received aggregate net proceeds of $2.8 billion from the sales of redeemable convertible preferred stock prior to its initial public offering, the issuance of convertible notes, and the sales of common stock in its initial public offering (“IPO”) in July 2014, in follow-on public offerings, and to BIMA under a stock purchase agreement executed in connection with the Biogen Collaboration Agreement. The Company has also received $1.0 billion in upfront payments under its collaborations with Biogen and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (“Shionogi”). Until such time, if ever, as the Company can generate substantial product revenue and achieve profitability, the Company expects to finance its cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances, licensing arrangements and other sources of funding. If the Company is unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings or other sources of funding when needed, the Company may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market products or product candidates that the Company would otherwise prefer to develop and market itself.
The Company expects that, based on its current operating plans, the Company’s existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will be sufficient to fund its currently planned operations for at least the next 12 months from the filing date of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements (“condensed consolidated financial statements”). At some point after that time, the Company anticipates it will require additional financing to fund its future operations. Even if the Company believes it has sufficient funds for its current or future operating plans, the Company may seek to raise additional capital if market conditions are favorable or in light of other strategic considerations. |