Voyager Therapeutics Secures $100M Upfront Payment in Expanded Gene Therapy Partnership with Novartis

Partnership Expansion:
Novartis and Voyager Therapeutics have expanded their collaboration to develop gene therapies for Huntington’s disease and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), leveraging Voyager’s TRACER capsid discovery platform.

Financial Terms:
Novartis will pay Voyager $100 million upfront, including a $20 million equity purchase, with potential milestone payments and royalties that could total up to $1.3 billion.

Responsibilities:
For the SMA program, Novartis will oversee development and commercialization. For the Huntington’s disease program, Voyager will handle preclinical development, while Novartis will be responsible for clinical development and commercialization.

TRACER Technology:
Voyager’s TRACER platform is an RNA-based screening approach that enables the discovery of adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids with robust central nervous system (CNS) tropism and the ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.

Strategic Alignment:
The partnership aligns with Novartis’s deep neuroscience expertise and gene therapy leadership, aiming to bring forward novel, high-impact gene therapies for severe neurologic conditions.

Previous Collaborations:
This deal deepens the relationship between Novartis and Voyager, following previous collaborations initiated in 2022 and expanded in 2023.