- Data presented as Developing Topics poster at AAIC 2026 -
LEXINGTON, Mass., July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VYGR), a biotechnology company dedicated to leveraging genetics to treat neurological diseases, today presented six-month good laboratory practice (GLP) toxicology data for VY1706, the Company's investigational gene therapy targeting intracellular and extracellular tau for Alzheimer's disease (AD), in a Developing Topics (late-breaking) poster presentation at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) taking place in London, July 12-15, 2026. Data presented showed that VY1706 was well tolerated and resulted in sustained tau protein reduction up to 75% in key brain regions of non-human primates (NHPs) following a single intravenous (IV) dose over a six-month period.
In June, Voyager received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance for VY1706, enabling initiation of a clinical trial in adults with early AD, with dosing expected to begin in the second half of the year. In May, the Company presented three-month GLP toxicology data for VY1706 at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy's (ASGCT) 2026 Annual Meeting.
"The data we are presenting at AAIC continue to reinforce the compelling pharmacology and safety profile and durability we have observed to date with VY1706, which is the first tau-targeted gene therapy with an IND cleared by the FDA," said Alfred W. Sandrock, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Voyager. "We continue to view tau as a potentially transformational target in Alzheimer's disease, and we look forward to initiating dosing of adults with early Alzheimer's disease in the second half of the year."
Developing Topics: Drug Development
IND-enabling GLP NHP study of VY1706, a BBB-crossing AAV gene therapy targeting tau in Alzheimer's (#Monday-1207). Rajeev Sivasankaran, SVP, Neuroscience, and Vik Arora, VP, Toxicology.
VY1706 demonstrated a favorable tolerability profile in the 3- and 6-month GLP NHP toxicology study, with no adverse clinical pathology or histopathological findings in the central nervous system (CNS), dorsal root ganglia (DRGs), and peripheral organs (including liver) up to the highest dose tested (5E13 vg/kg).
A single IV dose of VY1706 in NHPs achieved broad, durable, and dose-dependent CNS delivery with up to 75% lowering of MAPT mRNA and tau protein in key Alzheimer's disease-relevant brain regions through six months.
ALPL, a well-conserved brain vasculature endothelial receptor, mediates VY1706 blood-brain barrier (BBB) transport, supporting the potential for cross-species translatability.