Voyager Enters Capsid License Pact with Novartis to Advance Gene Therapies

Voyager Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the advancement of neurogenetic medicines, announced a strategic collaboration and capsid license agreement with Novartis Pharma AG, a subsidiary of Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS), to advance potential gene therapies for Huntington's disease (HD) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). 

Voyager will provide Novartis a target-exclusive license to access Voyager’s TRACER™ capsids and other intellectual property for the respective diseases, and Voyager and Novartis will collaborate to advance a preclinical gene therapy candidate for HD, as per Voyager Therapeutics.

“We are thrilled to expand our existing relationship with Novartis, a global leader in the gene therapy field,” said Alfred W. Sandrock, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Voyager. “Combining the proven capabilities of Novartis in gene therapy development and commercialization with Voyager’s next-generation TRACER capsids and payloads could enable the advancement of important new therapies for patients. In addition, the consideration Voyager will receive from this collaboration will strengthen our balance sheet and extend our runway into mid-2026.”

“We look forward to broadening our work with Voyager to help bring forward novel, high-impact gene therapies with the potential to improve the lives of patients affected by severe neurologic conditions,” said Fiona Marshall, President of Biomedical Research at Novartis. “We believe Voyager’s TRACER capsids hold promise for enabling next-generation gene therapies for diseases of the central nervous system, aligning well with our deep neuroscience expertise and gene therapy leadership at Novartis.”

Novartis previously exercised options to license new capsids discovered by Voyager's TRACER capsid discovery technology for use in gene therapy initiatives targeting two unnamed neurological illness targets.