Key additions and promotions to team in commercial, development and regulatory roles

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sage Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SAGE), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines to treat life-altering central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced the appointment of Michael Cloonan as Chief Business Officer. Additional executive appointments include Christopher Silber, M.D., as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development, Paul Hodgkins, Ph.D., as Vice President, Health Economics and Outcomes Research and Value Demonstration and Frank Sanders as Vice President, Sales & Marketing. In addition, Amy Schacterle, Ph.D., has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance.

"I am pleased to welcome Michael Cloonan, a highly-respected and very accomplished biopharmaceutical executive, to our team. In this new leadership role, Mike will be responsible for planning and executing an integrated global commercial strategy," said Jeff Jonas, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Sage Therapeutics. "We are excited to continue our buildout of critical leadership roles across the organization as we progress our broadening clinical pipeline across multiple CNS disorders, and plan for potential product commercialization next year. Mike, Chris, Paul and Frank add new capabilities and expertise to our team as we continue to evolve into a leading CNS company."

Michael Cloonan will lead Sage's Commercial, Portfolio and Program Management, Medical Affairs, and Corporate Development departments. Mr. Cloonan comes to Sage from Biogen, where he worked for 14 years. At Biogen, Mr. Cloonan most recently served as Senior Vice President, US Commercial, where he led a US affiliate with direct general manager responsibility for Sales, Marketing, Market Access, Patient Services and Commercial Operations. Previously, he held roles of increasing responsibility at Biogen, including Senior Vice President, Global Commercial Strategy; Vice President, Managing Director, Australia/New Zealand affiliate; and Vice President, Business Planning. Prior to Biogen, Mr. Cloonan worked at Bain & Company as a consultant specializing in healthcare. Mr. Cloonan received his M.B.A. from Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia and a B.A. from College of the Holy Cross.

Chris Silber, M.D., is an experienced drug development leader with over 25 years in executive roles in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Silber will lead the Medical Science, Clinical Operations and Data Science departments at Sage and will play a key role in clinical trial design and clinical program planning and execution. Prior to Sage, Dr. Silber served most recently as Chief Medical Officer for Agilis Biotherapeutics having previously held various clinical leadership roles at H. Lundbeck A/S for seven years, including Vice President, US Clinical Development Center and Vice President, US Clinical Research and Medical Affairs. Before Lundbeck, Dr. Silber held clinical research and drug development management roles at Takeda, Hospira, and Abbott Laboratories. Dr. Silber holds an M.D. from S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo School of Medicine and a B.A. in Psychology from Tufts University.

Paul Hodgkins, Ph.D., joins Sage from Vertex, where he served as Vice President, Global Health Economics & Outcomes Research since 2013. Prior to Vertex, Dr. Hodgkins held roles at Shire Pharmaceuticals including Senior Director, Global Health Economics Outcomes Research and Senior Global Medical Affairs Director. Dr. Hodgkins holds a BSc in Biochemistry, Pharmacology, and Statistics from the University of Wolverhampton, a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Aston University, and an MSc in Health Economics and Management from the University of Sheffield.

Frank Sanders joins Sage with over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Mr. Sanders will have responsibility for the development of marketing strategies and market growth plans, along with account management execution for the US market. Most recently, Mr. Sanders served as Vice President, Strategic Account Management at Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. Previously, Mr. Sanders held a wide range of senior leadership roles for GlaxoSmithKline, including Vice President, Marketing, Customer Strategy and Vice President, Field Sales. Mr. Sanders holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Wittenberg University.

Amy Schacterle, Ph.D., has been at Sage since 2014. She has led Sage's successful interactions with global regulatory authorities and has overseen the filing of several Investigational New Drug (IND) applications. In addition, Dr. Schacterle has led Sage's efforts in accelerating its development programs through regulatory initiatives, such as obtaining Breakthrough Therapy and PRIority MEdicines (PRIME) designations for Sage's Phase 3 program for postpartum depression.

About Sage Therapeutics

Sage Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing novel medicines to transform the lives of patients with life-altering central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Sage has a portfolio of novel product candidates targeting critical CNS receptor systems, GABA and NMDA. Sage's lead program, brexanolone (SAGE-547), is in Phase 3 clinical development for super-refractory status epilepticus, a rare and severe seizure disorder, and for postpartum depression. Sage is developing its next generation modulators, including SAGE-217 and SAGE-718, in various CNS disorders. For more information, please visit www.sagerx.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170424005510/en/

Investors:
Sage Therapeutics
Paul Cox, 617-299-8377
paul.cox@sagerx.com
or
Media:
Suda Communications LLC
Maureen L. Suda, 585-387-9248
maureen.suda@sagerx.com

Source: Sage Therapeutics

News Provided by Acquire Media