Shares of Sage Therapeutics jumped on Monday after it announced positive results in a midstage study of a drug for the treatment of major depressive disorder.
The stock was 14 percent higher in midday trading. It ended the day slightly below that level, but still gained nearly 12 percent during the session.
In a release on Monday, the Massachusetts-based company said it found encouraging results in a placebo-controlled phase 2 clinical trial for its orally-administered SAGE-217.
The drug was found to be generally well-tolerated with no serious adverse events or discontinuations reported, Sage said.
The company added a "statistically significant mean change from baseline was observed by day 2 of the study."
Major depressive disorder or clinical depression is a common but serious mood disorder, according to the National Institue of Mental Health, often affecting how a person feels, thinks and handles daily activities.
"...We are highly encouraged by the strong signal we achieved in this study, which met our internal criteria for achieving a positive signal and thus supported our plan to proceed to the double-blind, placebo-controlled part of the Phase 2 trial," CEO Jeff Jonas said in a statement.