PHARMACEUTICALS

Experimental drug shows promise in treating postpartum depression

An experimental drug touted as a breakthrough for treating severe postpartum depression is showing some promising results in a small clinical trial. Sage Therapeutics, based in Cambridge, reported Tuesday that seven of the 10 women who took the drug in the trial experienced significant improvement in their depression within 60 hours of the injection. That effect was maintained for 30 days. Among the 11 women who took the placebo, just one experienced remission within 60 hours. None of the patients who took the drug reported psychiatric side effects, such as abnormal dreams, insomnia, and anxiety — but five of the 11 women on the placebo reported such symptoms. A few patients in each group experienced dizziness or a sedative effect. Sage’s drug is designed to change the traffic patterns in the brain. There’s a natural push and pull between neurotransmitters called NMDA receptors and the GABA receptors that regulate their flow in the brain. In cases of severe depression, that equilibrium gets out of whack, and Sage’s drug is meant to restore it, modulating those GABA receptors to allow NMDA to do its job. The study is small and has not been peer-reviewed; Sage disclosed the results in a press release. — ROBERT WEISMAN

LANDMARKS

Citgo sign moves a step closer to possible landmark status

Even as Boston University weighs offers to buy and redevelop the buildings beneath it, the Citgo sign got a little temporary protection Tuesday night. A city board voted to launch the process of making the iconic electric sign an official city landmark. That means any building plans that might affect the sign would be subject to voluntary design review with the Boston Landmarks Commission. And more stringent protections could come in a few months. The sign’s fate has been clouded in recent months amid BU’s plan to sell 660 Beacon — the building that the sign stands on — and several neighboring properties. BU has said it is encouraging potential buyers to include the sign in any projects, and that all the parties it’s talking with “responded with concepts that include the sign.’’ But local preservationists are pushing for more concrete protections and have gathered more than 5,000 signatures via an online petition to grant the sign landmark status. If they succeed, the Landmarks Commission — a board of 13 architects and development experts — would have to approve any major development plans there. But official landmark status remains several steps away. First, the Landmarks Commission staff will conduct a full study of the sign’s historic and architectural significance. That takes three to six months, staffers say. — TIM LOGAN

PHARMACEUTICALS

Flagship Ventures hires chief medical officer

CAMBRIDGE —Flagship Ventures has hired a former Tufts medical dean and top official at the drug giant Merck & Co. to be its chief medical officer, believed to be the first executive to hold that position at a major venture capital firm. The hiring of Dr. Michael Rosenblatt (left), set to be disclosed Wednesday, adds a leading biomedical figure in the Boston area and nationally to the team at Flagship, which has created and funded high-profile biotechs such as Moderna Therapeutics Inc. and Editas Medicine. Flagship’s founder and chief executive, Noubar Afeyan, said his aim is to help the venture firm’s companies make smart drug development decisions and expose its young entrepreneurs to the ideas and network of a senior executive from Big Pharma and academic medicine. Rosenblatt, 68, left Merck & Co., where he was chief medical officer, on June 30 and plans to start work at Flagship on Sept. 12. He is a former dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine and president of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who has helped found several biotech startups and sits on the board of Flagship-backed Rubius Therapeutics. His chief job will be to help the more than three dozen companies backed by Flagship engage with patients, strike partnerships with biotechs and academic researchers, and move drug candidates through clinical trials. — ROBERT WEISMAN

BEER

Distributors being pressured to compromise in fight with brewers

The state Senate on Thursday approved a measure that pressures Massachusetts beer distributors to compromise in their yearslong fight with brewers, who want greater flexibility in choosing which companies market and deliver their beers. The measure would create a task force comprised of brewers, distributors, and several political appointees. The group would have until Dec. 31 to draft new rules spelling out when and how a brewery is permitted to fire its distributor and switch to a new one. If the task force fails to reach an agreement by the deadline, state senators would reintroduce a bill relaxing restrictions on breweries’ ability to switch distributors, said a person with direct knowledge of Thursday’s closed-door discussions between legislative leaders, brewers, and distributors. Under the current beer “franchise’’ law, a brewery is effectively stuck with its distributor unless it can prove to state regulators that the wholesaler has met one of several conditions — such as disparaging the brewer’s beer or failing to “exercise best efforts’’ in selling it. In some cases, the law could result in a brewer’s having to pay its distributor several years’ worth of revenue to leave. Brewers want to lift those restrictions, arguing they shouldn’t be bound to distributors indefinitely. They want brewer-distributor relationships to be governed by contracts and general commercial law, as are most other industries. — DAN ADAMS

REAL ESTATE

First owners at Millennium Tower are hardly household names

The names of the first owners of the condos in the Millennium Tower are public, and there’s barely an Old Boston name among them. Deeds for the first 47 units to officially close at the ultra-luxury tower in Downtown Crossing were filed with Suffolk County Thursday morning, with prices ranging from $875,000 for a unit on the 16th floor to $8.7 million for one on 45. And unlike the other high-profile luxury condo building to open recently, 22 Liberty in the Seaport District, most of the names wouldn’t ring a bell with the average Bostonian. It appears that three members of the Agganis family — relatives of the Lynn native, former Red Sox player, and Boston University arena namesake Harry Agganis — bought three units on the tenth floor. By contrast, the buyers of condos at 22 Liberty include Patriots owner Bob Kraft, technology entrepreneur Paul English, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals founder Josh Boger. — TIM LOGAN

BANKING

Santander hit with $10 million fine for marketing of overdraft protection

Santander Bank, the state’s third-largest lender, will pay a $10 million fine for deceptively marketing overdraft protection on debit cards, a service that potentially costs customers hundreds of dollars in fees each year. The bank violated new consumer protection rules adopted after the financial crisis by hiring a telemarketer that used misleading tactics to sell overdraft services, a lucrative source of revenue, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday. But from 2010 to 2014, the telemarketer enrolled customers in the program without their consent and provided them with false information about fees, the regulator said in a complaint. Santander Bank, headquartered in Boston, is a subsidiary of the Spanish financial giant Banco Santander S.A. In a statement, Santander said it is terminating its relationship with the telemarketer. The fine is the latest problem that Santander has encountered with federal banking regulators in recent weeks. In late June, Santander became the first bank to fail the Federal Reserve bank stress test for three years in a row. The exams are designed to ensure that banks can withstand severe economic upheavals. While Santander had enough capital on hand, regulators said its risk management and financial planning fell short. Fed officials did note that the bank has made improvements over the years. — DEIRDRE FERNANDES