Nature of Operations

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Nature of Operations

1. Nature of Operations

Sage Therapeutics, Inc. (“Sage” or the “Company”) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing novel medicines to treat life-altering central nervous system (“CNS”) disorders, where there are inadequate or no approved existing therapies. The Company is targeting CNS indications where patient populations are easily identified, clinical endpoints are well-defined, and development pathways are feasible.

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. under its Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.

The Company is subject to risks and uncertainties common to companies in the biotech industry, 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 commercializing pharmaceutical products, if it is able to obtain regulatory approval; the potential for development by third parties of new technological innovations that may compete with the Company’s products; the dependence on key personnel; the challenges of protecting proprietary technology; the need to comply with government regulations; the high costs of drug development; and the uncertainty of being able to secure additional capital when needed to fund operations.

The Company has incurred losses and negative cash flows from operations since its inception. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $264.4 million. From its inception through September 30, 2016, the Company received net proceeds of $643.3 million from the sales of redeemable convertible preferred stock, the issuance of convertible notes, and the proceeds from its initial public offering (“IPO”) in July 2014 and follow-on underwritten public offerings in April 2015, January 2016 and September 2016. Based on its current operating plans, the Company believes its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $431.3 million as of September 30, 2016 will be sufficient to fund its anticipated level of operations and capital expenditures into the second quarter of 2018.