CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 16, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SAGE Therapeutics (Nasdaq:SAGE), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines to treat life-threatening, rare central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced the appointment of Michael F. Cola to the company's board of directors.

"At this very exciting stage of development for SAGE, we welcome Mike's strategic thinking and foresight as we shape our portfolio of second-generation neurosteroids with the goal of ultimately delivering these new product candidates to patients and their families," said Jeff Jonas, M.D., chief executive officer of SAGE Therapeutics. "His leadership experience will be tremendously valuable as we continue to expand our clinical and preclinical programs and prepare to build a commercial organization."

Mr. Cola currently serves as president and chief executive officer of Medgenics, Inc. Prior to joining Medgencis, he served as president of specialty pharmaceuticals at Shire plc, a global specialty pharmaceutical company he first joined in 2005 as executive vice-president of global therapeutic business units and portfolio management. Previously, Mr. Cola also served as a growth capital provider and president of the life sciences group for Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., where he served as chairman and chief executive officer of Clarient, Inc., and chairman of Laureate Pharma, Inc. In addition, Mr. Cola has held senior positions in product development and commercialization at AstraMerck and AstraZeneca. Mr. Cola received a B.A. in biology and physics from Ursinus College and an M.S. in biomedical science from Drexel University. He also serves on the board of directors at Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Pennsylvania BIO, and serves as chairman for the board of governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia.

"It's an honor to join SAGE Therapeutics at such an important time," said Mr. Cola. "With a successful IPO and the rapid development of its lead compound, SAGE-547, the company is poised to deliver new treatments for patients suffering from CNS disorders with few or no treatment options. I look forward to partnering with the SAGE team to expand and develop these efforts."

About SAGE Therapeutics

SAGE Therapeutics (Nasdaq:SAGE) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing novel medicines to treat life-threatening, rare CNS disorders. SAGE's lead program, SAGE-547, is in clinical development for super-refractory status epilepticus and is the first of several compounds the company is developing in its portfolio of potential seizure medicines. SAGE's proprietary chemistry platform has generated multiple new compounds that target GABA_A and NMDA receptors, which are broadly accepted as impacting many psychiatric and neurological disorders. For more information, please visit www.sagerx.com.  

Forward-Looking Statements 

This release contains forward-looking statements and information. The use of words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "project," "intend," "future," "potential," or "continue," and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example SAGE's future expectations, plans and prospects, including without limitation, SAGE's expectations regarding the potential safety, pharmacological effect and efficacy of SAGE-547 as a treatment for SRSE and PPD, the expected development pathway for its other product candidates and its expectations with respect to the timing and success of its clinical trials, constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. In particular it should be noted that the initial data reported from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of SAGE-547 for SRSE are preliminary in nature and that this SAGE-547 clinical trial has not been completed. The preliminary data may change as additional data is released and such preliminary data may not be repeated or observed in ongoing or future studies involving SAGE-547 or our other product candidates. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, without limitation, SAGE's ability to successfully demonstrate the efficacy and safety of its product candidates, the pre-clinical and clinical results for its product candidates, which may not support further development of product candidates, actions of regulatory agencies, which may affect the initiation, timing and progress of clinical trials, obtaining, maintaining and protecting intellectual property, SAGE's ability to enforce its patents against infringers and defend its patent portfolio against challenges from third parties, competition from others developing products for similar uses, SAGE's ability to manage operating expenses, SAGE's ability to obtain additional funding to support its business activities and establish and maintain strategic business alliances and new business initiatives, SAGE's dependence on third parties for development, manufacture, marketing, sales and distribution of products, the outcome of litigation, and unexpected expenditures, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the final prospectus related to SAGE's initial public offering filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in SAGE's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent SAGE's views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. SAGE explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

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