UPDATE: Ligand Pharma Announces Milestone from Sage Therapeutics for SAGE-547

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

today announced that it has earned a $150,000 milestone payment from SAGE Therapeutics (SAGE) relating to the earlier commencement by SAGE of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of SAGE-547 for the treatment of super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE), a life-threatening seizure condition in which the brain is in a state of persistent seizure. SAGE-547 is an intravenous agent in Phase 1/2 clinical development as an adjunctive therapy, a therapy combined with current therapeutic approaches, for the treatment of SRSE. SAGE utilizes Ligand's Captisol® technology to develop SAGE-547 for status epilepticus (SE) and traumatic brain injury. In 2013, Ligand entered into a platform license agreement with SAGE for the development and commercialization of Captisol-enabled™ therapeutics for a broad range of debilitating central nervous system conditions. Elements of that agreement were also recently expanded to cover additional therapy areas for certain compounds. “SAGE is a biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing novel medicines to treat life-threatening, rare central nervous system disorders. SAGE-547 is their lead product candidate. We commend the SAGE team on their progress with this important new therapy and also congratulate them on their recent receipt of U.S. Orphan Drug Designation for SAGE-547 for the treatment of SE,” said John Higgins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ligand. “The treatment options for status epilepticus, a life-threatening disease, are inherently limited and there are no specifically approved therapies for SRSE. Our partnership with SAGE is but one example of Ligand's science and technologies being utilized under licensing agreements to develop or improve treatments across a variety of medical conditions.”