Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. has earned a $150,000 milestone payment from SAGE Therapeutics (SAGE) related to the initiation of a Phase 1/2 trial of SAGE-547 for the treatment of super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE), a life-threatening seizure condition.
 
SAGE-547 is an intravenous agent that utilizes Ligand’s Captisol technology. Ligand and SAGE entered a platform license agreement in 2013 for the development and commercialization of Captisol-enabled therapeutics for a broad range of debilitating central nervous system conditions. The companies recently expanded the agreement 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,” added Mr. Higgins.