Voyager Therapeutics demonstrates ALPL receptor-mediated BBB transport

Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR) announced the first peer-reviewed publication of data demonstrating the ability of alkaline phosphatase, ALPL, to transport a novel AAV capsid across the blood-brain barrier, BBB. The article, titled “Highly conserved brain vascular receptor ALPL mediates transport of engineered AAV vectors across the blood-brain barrier,” was published in Molecular Therapy and can be accessed here. “Understanding ALPL and its ability to mediate transport across the blood-brain barrier has been foundational to the evolution of our gene therapy programs, two of which are advancing towards IND filings this year with a partner,” said Mathieu Nonnenmacher, Ph.D., Vice President of Gene Therapy at Voyager. “Building on our first-generation capsids, such as VCAP-102, which is featured in this paper, we have evolved next-generation capsids with even stronger brain transduction and liver de-targeting, as well as stealth capsids with immune-evading capabilities.”