CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SAGE Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SAGE), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines to treat life-altering central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced the following appointments:
- Anne Marie Cook joins SAGE as Senior Vice President, General Counsel
- Jim Doherty, Ph.D., is promoted to Senior Vice President of Research
- Heinrich Schlieker, Ph.D., joins SAGE as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations
- Ryan Arnold, D.O., joins SAGE as Vice President of Medical Affairs
"These key strategic appointments will significantly strengthen our organizational capabilities as we build towards becoming a commercial-stage company developing multiple novel product candidates," said Jeff Jonas, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of SAGE Therapeutics. "Their years of strategic planning, operational expertise and commercial experience will contribute greatly in our continued evolution as a leading innovator in the development of medicines for serious CNS disorders. We are thrilled that our mission, product portfolio and dynamic culture continue to attract industry-leading talent to our team."
Ms. Cook was most recently with Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, where she served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. Before that, she was a partner with Boston-based law firm Choate Hall & Stewart LLP (Choate), where she represented life science companies in structuring and negotiating strategic transactions such as joint ventures, collaborations, mergers and acquisitions and intellectual property. Additionally, she provided general legal support in connection with the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Prior to joining Choate, she was Senior Vice President, Business & Corporate Development, General Counsel at ViaCell, Inc., and Chief Corporate Counsel at Biogen. Ms. Cook received her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School and her B.S. in biology from Tufts University.
Dr. Doherty joined SAGE in 2012 and most recently served as Vice President of Pharmacology, Head of Biology. Before SAGE, he served as Director and Head of the Neuroscience Department for the CNS and Pain Innovative Medicine Unit of AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals in Sodertalje, Sweden, and prior to that, he was Director and Head of the Neuroscience Department at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals in Wilmington, Del. He has experience with discovery, translational science and early development in several areas of neuroscience research, including psychiatry, neurology, cognition, epilepsy and analgesia. He has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed research and review articles. Dr. Doherty holds a B.A. in biology from the University of Delaware and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Georgetown University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University Medical School.
Dr. Schlieker joins SAGE from Cubist Inc., where he served as Vice President, Process Development & Manufacturing, and was responsible for developing manufacturing processes for new products, all CMC related development and for overseeing external manufacturing partners for clinical stage and commercial products. Prior to his 10-year tenure at Cubist, Dr. Schlieker held various positions in process development and manufacturing support at Hoffman-La Roche in Switzerland, New Jersey and Germany. He holds a Ph.D. in biochemical engineering and a chemistry degree from the Braunschweig University of Technology in Germany.
Dr. Arnold comes to SAGE from Biogen, where he most recently served as Senior Director, Medical Affairs and Head, U.S. MSLs. He was responsible for leading more than 75 MSLs and directors that provided coverage for Biogen's Neurology and Hematology portfolios and all pipeline products. He was also instrumental in the development and execution of medical plans and lifecycle strategies for existing products and upcoming product launches. Dr. Arnold held several positions of increasing responsibility at Biogen as well as at Genzyme, Avanir and Amgen. He received his D.O. from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and his B.A. in Biology from Oakland University.
About SAGE Therapeutics
SAGE Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing novel medicines to treat life-altering central nervous system (CNS) disorders. SAGE's lead program, SAGE-547, is in Phase 3 clinical development for super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) and is the first of several compounds the Company is developing in its portfolio of potential CNS medicines. SAGE's proprietary chemistry platform has generated multiple new compounds that target GABAA 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
Various statements in this release concerning SAGE's future expectations, plans and prospects, including without limitation, SAGE's expectations regarding the advancement and potential commercialization of its product candidates, including SAGE-547, constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 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 and maintaining intellectual property protection and other forms of marketing and data exclusivity for SAGE's products; 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 SAGE's most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, 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.