Business
Voyager Therapeutics Transforms Pipeline and Increases Investment in Next-Generation TRACER™ AAV Capsid and Vectorized Antibody Platform Technologies
Proprietary AAV capsids to power second-generation efforts in Huntington’s disease and ALS, pre-clinical programs in spinal muscular atrophy and diseases
About this update from Voyager Therapeutics, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Proprietary AAV capsids to power second-generation efforts in Huntington’s disease and ALS, pre-clinical programs in spinal muscular atrophy and diseases linked to GBA1 mutations Increased platform investment to expand discovery of novel targeted AAV capsids and clinical application of vectorized antibodies Company reports second quarter 2021 financial results; extends cash runway into early 2023 CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VYGR), a gene therapy company developing life-changing treatments and next-generation platform technologies, today introduced new programs in Huntington’s disease, a monogenic form of ALS (SOD1), spinal muscular atrophy, and diseases linked to GBA1 mutations, all powered by its proprietary AAV capsids that have demonstrated superior transgene expression in the brain compared to AAV9 delivery in non-human primates. The Company also announced increased investment in its RNA-driven TRACER (Tropism Redirection of AAV by Cell-type-specific Expression of RNA) AAV screening technology to expand discovery of novel capsids with broad tissue tropism in CNS, cardiac, and skeletal tissues. “Given recent breakthroughs with our platform technologies, Voyager has transformed its pipeline to focus on advancing innovative gene therapies that leverage our proprietary next-generation AAV capsids and vectorized antibodies. In parallel, we are bolstering investment in our TRACER platform to produce additional targeted capsids with enhanced tissue- and cellular-specificity and to expand the potential of AAV-mediated genetic delivery of antibody therapies,” said Michael Higgins, Interim CEO of Voyager. “Voyager’s capsids have achieved superior transduction in targeted tissues over AAV9 in non-human primates, and we strongly believe that our platform has opened up a wide array of opportunities in CNS, as well as other tissues. Because our novel capsids have significant potential to be more reliably on-target with less risk of dose-limiting toxicities, we believe they could enable a new generation of gene therapies developed internally, as well as by collaborators or licensees.” “After a rigorous and thoughtful evaluation of existing programs, we have refocused the Company on delivery technologies to power new and second-generation programs which we believe have robust targe...