NIH awards Third Rock startup up to $10M for Fragile X work

Cambridge, MA-based Sage Therapeutics has won an NIH grant of up to $10 million to back its work on a new treatment for Fragile X syndrome. The money is earmarked for discovery work through Phase I. And interim CEO Kevin Starr--a partner at Third Rock who launched the company with a $35 million A round in 2011--hopes that Sage can break new ground in a tough R&D field. There are no current treatments for Fragile X. "We are excited about the opportunity to apply cutting-edge science to the pursuit of novel treatments for Fragile X syndrome and other neurological disorders," said Rebecca Farkas, a program director at the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Office of Translational Research. Release