Voyager Therapeutics continues expansion of its AD franchise

Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR) continued the expansion of its Alzheimer’s disease, AD, franchise with the introduction of a wholly-owned program that modulates the expression of apolipoprotein E, the strongest genetic risk factor for AD.i The program uses a proprietary intravenous-delivered, blood-brain barrier-penetrant TRACER capsid to deliver a bifunctional payload that is designed to decrease expression of APOE in carriers of the variant APOE4, while delivering the variant APOE2. APOE4 has been strongly linked with a higher risk of developing AD, with almost all APOE4 homozygotes exhibiting AD pathologyi, while APOE2 has been associated with a lower risk of developing AD. In preclinical studies, a single IV injection of a TRACER capsid carrying the single bifunctional vector resulted in significant reductions of endogenous APOE4 in key AD-relevant brain regions of APOE4 knock-in mice, while significantly increasing expression of the APOE2 isoform to maintain overall APOE levels. Voyager anticipates presenting early data on this program at an upcoming scientific meeting in 2025.