Dr. Steve Kanes is Chief Medical Officer of Centessa. Steve is a Neuropsychiatrist with a career in neuroscience, clinical psychiatry, and neuroscience drug development spanning more than 30 years. He served as Chief Medical Officer of Sage Therapeutics from 2013 to 2021, where he led the successful clinical development of ZULRESSO® (brexanolone), the first-ever treatment approved for Postpartum Depression (PPD), along with the buildout of the development organization and Sage Therapeutics’ broad neuroscience portfolio. Most recently, Steve was Chief Executive Officer of EmbarkNeuro, a neuroscience focused biotech company focussed on delivering novel personalized treatments for major depression. Earlier in his career, Steve was Executive Director in Clinical Development in the Inflammation, Neuroscience and Respiratory therapeutic areas at AstraZeneca where he played key roles in early development, translational science, and a faculty member of the University of Pennsylvania Department of Psychiatry.
Steve received both his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology and his MD from the Stony Brook University Renaissance School of Medicine and completed his residency training in the Yale University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.
