Oct 17 (Reuters) - Sage Therapeutics ( SAGE ) said on

Thursday its finance chief will leave the company and the

drugmaker plans to lay off more than 165 employees as part of a

reorganization plan that aims to focus on the launch of its

postpartum depression pill.

The company's workforce reductions include about 55% of its

research and development team, as well as changes to its top

management.

Sage's Chief Financial Officer Kimi Iguchi will leave the

company, while Chief Business Officer Chris Benecchi will take

on the role of chief operating officer, the company said.

The drugmaker plans to prioritize the launch of its

postpartum depression pill Zurzuvae, that has been jointly

developed with Biogen.

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved

Zurzuvae for postpartum depression but rejected it as a

treatment for clinical depression, a much larger market.

Sage said on Thursday it will also focus on developing its

experimental drug dalzanemdor for Huntington's disease, which

causes nerve cells in the brain to decay over time.

The company forecast a non-recurring charge of about $26

million to $28 million associated with the reorganizations, that

will primarily be incurred in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Sage expects to report data from a trial testing dalzanemdor

as a treatment for Huntington's disease later this year.

Earlier this month, the drugmaker said it would stop

developing dalzanemdor for Alzheimer's disease after it failed

to meet the main goal of a late-stage trial.

The company previously stopped developing dalzanemdor as a

treatment for Parkinson's disease.