Nature of business	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2016
Nature of business
Nature of business	VOYAGER THERAPEUTICS INC. NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1. Nature of business Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (“the Company”) is a clinical‑stage gene therapy company focused on developing life‑changing treatments for patients suffering from severe diseases of the central nervous system (the “CNS”). The Company focuses on CNS diseases where it believes that an adeno‑associated virus (“AAV”) gene therapy approach can have a clinically meaningful impact by either increasing or decreasing the production of a specific protein. The Company has created a product engine that enables it to engineer, optimize, manufacture, and deliver its AAV‑based gene therapies that have the potential to provide durable efficacy following a single administration directly to the CNS. The Company’s product engine has rapidly generated seven programs for CNS indications, including advanced Parkinson’s disease, a form of monogenic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Friedreich’s ataxia, Huntington’s disease, spinal muscular atrophy, frontotemporal dementia / Alzheimer’s disease, and severe, chronic pain. The Company’s most advanced clinical candidate, VY‑AADC01, is being evaluated for the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease in an open‑label, Phase 1b clinical trial with the goal of generating human proof‑of‑concept data in the fourth quarter of 2016. The Company is subject to risks common to companies in the biotechnology and gene therapy industry, including but not limited to, risks of failure of pre‑clinical studies and clinical trials, the need to obtain adequate additional funding, the need to obtain marketing approval for its drug product candidates, the need to successfully commercialize and gain market acceptance of its drug product candidates, dependence on key personnel, protection of proprietary technology, compliance with government regulations, development by competitors of technological innovations, ability to transition from pilot‑scale manufacturing to large‑scale production of products, and reliance on external sources for financing. If the Company does not successfully commercialize any of its products, it will be unable to generate product revenue or achieve profitability. In February 2015, the Company entered into an agreement with Genzyme (“Collaboration Agreement”), which included a non-refundable upfront payment of $65.0 million. In addition, contemporaneous with entering into the Collaboration Agreement, Genzyme entered into a Series B Stock Purchase Agreement, under which Genzyme purchased 10,000,000 shares of Series B Preferred Stock for $30.0 million. Through June 30, 2016, the Company had raised approximately $278.0 million of proceeds from sales of convertible preferred stock and common stock, including its initial public offering and proceeds from the Collaboration Agreement. The Company believes that its cash, cash equivalent, and available-for-sale securities of $204.0 million as of June 30, 2016 is sufficient to fund its current operating plan into 2019. There can be no assuance, however, that the current operating plan will be achieved in the timeframe anticipated by the Company, or that its cash resources will fund the Company’s operating plan for the period anticipated by the Company, or that additional funding will be available on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all.

VOYAGER THERAPEUTICS INC.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Nature of business

Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (“the Company”) is a clinical‑stage gene therapy company focused on developing life‑changing treatments for patients suffering from severe diseases of the central nervous system (the “CNS”). The Company focuses on CNS diseases where it believes that an adeno‑associated virus (“AAV”) gene therapy approach can have a clinically meaningful impact by either increasing or decreasing the production of a specific protein. The Company has created a product engine that enables it to engineer, optimize, manufacture, and deliver its AAV‑based gene therapies that have the potential to provide durable efficacy following a single administration directly to the CNS. The Company’s product engine has rapidly generated seven programs for CNS indications, including advanced Parkinson’s disease, a form of monogenic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Friedreich’s ataxia, Huntington’s disease, spinal muscular atrophy, frontotemporal dementia / Alzheimer’s disease, and severe, chronic pain. The Company’s most advanced clinical candidate, VY‑AADC01, is being evaluated for the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease in an open‑label, Phase 1b clinical trial with the goal of generating human proof‑of‑concept data in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The Company is subject to risks common to companies in the biotechnology and gene therapy industry, including but not limited to, risks of failure of pre‑clinical studies and clinical trials, the need to obtain adequate additional funding, the need to obtain marketing approval for its drug product candidates, the need to successfully commercialize and gain market acceptance of its drug product candidates, dependence on key personnel, protection of proprietary technology, compliance with government regulations, development by competitors of technological innovations, ability to transition from pilot‑scale manufacturing to large‑scale production of products, and reliance on external sources for financing. If the Company does not successfully commercialize any of its products, it will be unable to generate product revenue or achieve profitability.

In February 2015, the Company entered into an agreement with Genzyme (“Collaboration Agreement”), which included a non-refundable upfront payment of $65.0 million. In addition, contemporaneous with entering into the Collaboration Agreement, Genzyme entered into a Series B Stock Purchase Agreement, under which Genzyme purchased 10,000,000 shares of Series B Preferred Stock for $30.0 million.

Through June 30, 2016, the Company had raised approximately $278.0 million of proceeds from sales of convertible preferred stock and common stock, including its initial public offering and proceeds from the Collaboration Agreement. The Company believes that its cash, cash equivalent, and available-for-sale securities of $204.0 million as of June 30, 2016 is sufficient to fund its current operating plan into 2019. There can be no assuance, however, that the current operating plan will be achieved in the timeframe anticipated by the Company, or that its cash resources will fund the Company’s operating plan for the period anticipated by the Company, or that additional funding will be available on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all.