What's going on?

You may not have heard of them, but the stock price of Sage Therapeutics jumped 35% on Tuesday after the company reported encouraging results from a trial of a drug it�s developing to treat severe postpartum depression.

What does this mean?

It�s obviously big news for Sage�s shareholders but it�s also, potentially, hugely importantly news for the 10-15% of mothers that suffer from postpartum depression. There are currently no approved treatments specifically developed for postpartum depression, and so a specific drug would likely be in high demand (and be a financial success for the company that�s able to develop it).

Why should I care?

For markets: This is some good news amidst a sea of pain for biotech stocks. The biotech sector has struggled since Hillary Clinton laid out a strategy last year to limit the rising cost of pharmaceutical drugs. Her plan is part of a general backlash against companies that have drastically raised prices on drugs used to treat rare diseases. But Sage appears to be quite a different company: it actually develops its own drugs (rather than simply purchasing them from other developers before raising their prices, as others routinely did). Nevertheless, its stock had fallen more than 40% this year prior to Tuesday�s news.

For you personally: The drug is still a long way from getting approval. The trial investigator called it �potentially one of the most important clinical findings in the pharmacologic treatment of postpartum depressions to date.� But the success of this 21-person trial only means that further tests will take place next year � and so, there are still a number of hurdles to clear before investors get confirmation of its success and the drug becomes available to patients.