Voyager Advances Tau Gene Therapy With VY1706

Voyager Therapeutics, Inc., a biotech company specialising in neurogenetic medicine, has selected VY1706 as its lead candidate for a tau-silencing gene therapy to treat Alzheimer’s. The company plans to submit an investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.S. FDA and a clinical trial application (CTA) to Health Canada in 2026.

VY1706 utilises a powerful siRNA construct to reduce tau expression, delivered intravenously via Voyager’s TRACER™ capsid, which effectively crosses the blood-brain barrier. In preclinical studies involving non-human primates, a single dose of VY1706 achieved a 50% to 73% reduction in tau mRNA levels across the cerebral cortex, including brain regions where tau buildup is commonly seen as Alzheimer’s progresses. Voyager intends to share these findings and further data at an upcoming scientific conference.

Toby Ferguson, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Voyager, said in a statement, “The nomination of this tau silencing development candidate VY1706, along with the ongoing clinical trial of our anti-tau antibody VY7523, demonstrate our conviction that tau is an important target in Alzheimer’s disease.”  

He further commented, “We have seen third-party data indicating that both a tau antibody and a tau knockdown approach can impact tau accumulation in a human brain and may correlate with clinical benefit. We will continue to assess and learn from emerging data in this field as we efficiently progress our differentiated tau antibody and tau gene therapy programs towards human proof-of-concept.”