Nature of business	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2022
Nature of business
Nature of business	1. Nature of business Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) is a gene therapy and neuroscience company developing life-changing treatments and next-generation adeno-associated virus (“AAV”) capsids. The Company focuses on diseases where it believes a single dose AAV gene therapy or an antibody can either halt or slow disease progression or reduce symptom severity, therefore providing clinically meaningful impact to patients. The Company’s gene therapy platforms enable it to engineer, optimize, manufacture and deliver its AAV-based gene therapies that it believes have the potential to safely provide durable efficacy. The Company’s team of experts in the field of AAV gene therapy and neuroscience first identifies and selects diseases in which the Company believes an AAV gene therapy or an antibody will answer a high unmet medical need, be supported by target validation, offer an efficient path to human proof of biology, present robust preclinical pharmacology, and offer strong commercial potential. The Company then engineers and optimizes either an AAV vector for delivery of the virus payload to the targeted tissue or cells or a passive antibody for systemic delivery. The Company is identifying proprietary AAV capsids, the outer viral protein shells that enclose genetic material of a virus payload. The Company’s team has developed a proprietary AAV capsid discovery platform called TRACER^TM (Tropism Redirection of AAV by Cell Type-Specific Expression of RNA) to facilitate the selection of AAV capsids with blood brain barrier (“BBB”) crossing and cell-specific transduction properties for particular therapeutic applications. The TRACER discovery platform is a broadly applicable, functional RNA-based AAV capsid discovery platform that allows for rapid in vivo evolution of AAV capsids with cell-specific transduction properties in multiple species, including non-human primates. The Company believes its single dose gene therapies have the potential to be delivered with targeted or systemic surgical delivery or infusions, in conjunction with capsids it discovers through its TRACER platform (“TRACER capsids”). The Company is also applying the TRACER discovery platform to identify capsid variant libraries and facilitate the selection of capsids with tropism and transduction in additional cell and tissue types. The Company is actively engaged in discussions with multiple parties to make TRACER capsids available to third parties for use in their drug development programs through potential licensing and other arrangements. In addition to the Company’s TRACER discovery platform, the Company has developed a vectorized antibody platform which the Company believes will overcome many of the challenges of passive immunization. However, the Company has also seen promising preclinical results from the passive immunization approach and the Company is investigating both passive immunization and vectorized approaches to administer proprietary antibodies that selectively target pathological tau to address tauopathies. The Company’s business strategy focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing its gene therapy and antibody programs. As part of this strategy, the Company has developed core competencies specific to AAV gene therapy and antibody development and manufacturing. This business strategy also includes business development activities that may include in-licensing activities or partnering certain programs in specific geographies with collaborators, as the Company has demonstrated through its ongoing collaboration with Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (“Neurocrine”) under a collaboration agreement that became effective in January 2019 (the “Neurocrine Collaboration Agreement”), or out-licensing activities including license agreements related to the TRACER capsids such as the Company’s October 2021 licensing agreement with Pfizer Inc. (“Pfizer”) and the Company’s March 2022 licensing agreement with Novartis Pharma AG (“Novartis”). The Company believes there is an ongoing opportunity for out-licensing transactions related to the TRACER capsids. To maximize the potential of TRACER capsids for the Company’s own programs and out-licensing transactions, the Company has retained to date, and expects to retain in the future, all rights associated with such TRACER capsids other than the rights specific to their use in combination with a particular licensee’s transgenes. The Company is devoting substantially all of its efforts to product research and development, market development, and raising capital. The Company is subject to risks common to companies in the biotechnology and gene therapy industries, including but not limited to, the need to obtain sufficient capital to continue to fund its operations, risks of failure of preclinical studies and clinical trials, the need to obtain marketing approval for its product candidates, the need to successfully commercialize and gain market acceptance of its product candidates, dependence on key personnel, protection of proprietary information and technology, protection against data breaches and other cybersecurity threats, compliance with government regulations, development by competitors of technological innovations, and ability to transition from pilot-scale manufacturing to large-scale production of products. The Company has a history of incurring annual net operating losses. As of June 30, 2022, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $387.5 million. The Company has not generated any product revenue and has financed its operations primarily through public offerings and private placements of its equity securities and funding from fees, milestone payments, and cost reimbursements associated with its prior collaborations with Sanofi Genzyme Corporation (“Sanofi Genzyme”) and AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd and AbbVie Ireland Unlimited Company (collectively, “AbbVie”), and its ongoing collaboration with Neurocrine, its licensing agreement with Pfizer, and its licensing agreement with Novartis. Through June 30, 2022, the Company has raised approximately $724.0 million of proceeds from sales of convertible preferred stock and common stock, including its initial public offering and follow-on public offering, and from its collaboration and license agreements. As of June 30, 2022, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $148.1 million. Based upon its current operating plan, the Company expects that its existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities at June 30, 2022, together with amounts expected to be received as reimbursement for development costs under the Neurocrine Collaboration Agreement, will be sufficient to meet the Company’s planned operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into 2024. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to obtain additional debt or equity financing on terms acceptable to the Company or generate product revenue or revenue from collaboration partners, on a timely basis or at all. The failure of the Company to obtain sufficient funds on acceptable terms when needed could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Nature of business

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2022

1. Nature of business

Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) is a gene therapy and neuroscience company developing life-changing treatments and next-generation adeno-associated virus (“AAV”) capsids. The Company focuses on diseases where it believes a single dose AAV gene therapy or an antibody can either halt or slow disease progression or reduce symptom severity, therefore providing clinically meaningful impact to patients. The Company’s gene therapy platforms enable it to engineer, optimize, manufacture and deliver its AAV-based gene therapies that it believes have the potential to safely provide durable efficacy. The Company’s team of experts in the field of AAV gene therapy and neuroscience first identifies and selects diseases in which the Company believes an AAV gene therapy or an antibody will answer a high unmet medical need, be supported by target validation, offer an efficient path to human proof of biology, present robust preclinical pharmacology, and offer strong commercial potential. The Company then engineers and optimizes either an AAV vector for delivery of the virus payload to the targeted tissue or cells or a passive antibody for systemic delivery.

The Company is identifying proprietary AAV capsids, the outer viral protein shells that enclose genetic material of a virus payload. The Company’s team has developed a proprietary AAV capsid discovery platform called TRACER^TM (Tropism Redirection of AAV by Cell Type-Specific Expression of RNA) to facilitate the selection of AAV capsids with blood brain barrier (“BBB”) crossing and cell-specific transduction properties for particular therapeutic applications. The TRACER discovery platform is a broadly applicable, functional RNA-based AAV capsid discovery platform that allows for rapid in vivo evolution of AAV capsids with cell-specific transduction properties in multiple species, including non-human primates. The Company believes its single dose gene therapies have the potential to be delivered with targeted or systemic surgical delivery or infusions, in conjunction with capsids it discovers through its TRACER platform (“TRACER capsids”).

The Company is also applying the TRACER discovery platform to identify capsid variant libraries and facilitate the selection of capsids with tropism and transduction in additional cell and tissue types. The Company is actively engaged in discussions with multiple parties to make TRACER capsids available to third parties for use in their drug development programs through potential licensing and other arrangements.

In addition to the Company’s TRACER discovery platform, the Company has developed a vectorized antibody platform which the Company believes will overcome many of the challenges of passive immunization. However, the Company has also seen promising preclinical results from the passive immunization approach and the Company is investigating both passive immunization and vectorized approaches to administer proprietary antibodies that selectively target pathological tau to address tauopathies.

The Company’s business strategy focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing its gene therapy and antibody programs. As part of this strategy, the Company has developed core competencies specific to AAV gene therapy and antibody development and manufacturing. This business strategy also includes business development activities that may include in-licensing activities or partnering certain programs in specific geographies with collaborators, as the Company has demonstrated through its ongoing collaboration with Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (“Neurocrine”) under a collaboration agreement that became effective in January 2019 (the “Neurocrine Collaboration Agreement”), or out-licensing activities including license agreements related to the TRACER capsids such as the Company’s October 2021 licensing agreement with Pfizer Inc. (“Pfizer”) and the Company’s March 2022 licensing agreement with Novartis Pharma AG (“Novartis”). The Company believes there is an ongoing opportunity for out-licensing transactions related to the TRACER capsids. To maximize the potential of TRACER capsids for the Company’s own programs and out-licensing transactions, the Company has retained to date, and expects to retain in the future, all rights associated with such TRACER capsids other than the rights specific to their use in combination with a particular licensee’s transgenes.

The Company is devoting substantially all of its efforts to product research and development, market development, and raising capital. The Company is subject to risks common to companies in the biotechnology and gene therapy industries, including but not limited to, the need to obtain sufficient capital to continue to fund its operations, risks of failure of preclinical studies and clinical trials, the need to obtain marketing approval for its product candidates, the need to successfully commercialize and gain market acceptance of its product candidates, dependence on key personnel, protection of proprietary information and technology, protection against data breaches and other cybersecurity threats, compliance with government regulations, development by competitors of technological innovations, and ability to transition from pilot-scale manufacturing to large-scale production of products.

The Company has a history of incurring annual net operating losses. As of June 30, 2022, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $387.5 million. The Company has not generated any product revenue and has financed its operations primarily through public offerings and private placements of its equity securities and funding from fees, milestone payments, and cost reimbursements associated with its prior collaborations with Sanofi Genzyme Corporation (“Sanofi Genzyme”) and AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd and AbbVie Ireland Unlimited Company (collectively, “AbbVie”), and its ongoing collaboration with Neurocrine, its licensing agreement with Pfizer, and its licensing agreement with Novartis.

Through June 30, 2022, the Company has raised approximately $724.0 million of proceeds from sales of convertible preferred stock and common stock, including its initial public offering and follow-on public offering, and from its collaboration and license agreements. As of June 30, 2022, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $148.1 million.

Based upon its current operating plan, the Company expects that its existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities at June 30, 2022, together with amounts expected to be received as reimbursement for development costs under the Neurocrine Collaboration Agreement, will be sufficient to meet the Company’s planned operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into 2024.

There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to obtain additional debt or equity financing on terms acceptable to the Company or generate product revenue or revenue from collaboration partners, on a timely basis or at all. The failure of the Company to obtain sufficient funds on acceptable terms when needed could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations, and financial condition.