Neurocrine Invests $65 Million in Voyager to Advance Alpha-Synuclein Antibody Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that U.S. biopharmaceutical company Neurocrine announced on February 22 a $65 million investment in Voyager Therapeutics (“Voyager”) to expand the scope of their collaborative partnership.

Under the business expansion agreement, both parties will conduct trials on alpha-synuclein antibodies to develop new therapies for Parkinson’s disease. In this collaboration, Voyager will be responsible for all Phase 1 activities, including antibody research and preclinical development. In the later stages of the project, Neurocrine has the option to further develop and commercialize the research outcomes.

Voyager is a gene therapy company founded in 2013 and headquartered in Massachusetts, USA. The company is dedicated to developing treatments for debilitating diseases affecting the central nervous system (CNS). Voyager advances adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy through innovation and investment in vector optimization engineering, delivery technologies, and process development and manufacturing. Voyager’s initial R&D focus has been on novel therapies for CNS disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and Friedreich’s ataxia.

Neurocrine is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, dedicated to developing treatments for neurological and endocrine-related disorders. The company develops and markets INGREZZA capsules, the first FDA-approved product for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia (a movement disorder characterized by involuntary movements) in adults.

Currently, Neurocrine’s research team is advancing novel small-molecule compounds into clinical studies to develop small-molecule antagonists targeting G protein-coupled receptors.

Neurocrine and Voyager joined forces in February 2018 to conduct a one-time treatment trial for Alzheimer’s disease, which uses adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to enable the brain to produce “vectorized” anti-tau antibodies. It is reported that Neurocrine made an upfront payment of more than $69 million at the time, along with $155 million in preclinical and Phase I option payments, and up to $895 million in development and regulatory milestones.

“The expansion of the business collaboration between AbbVie and Voyager is a testament to the widely recognized achievements we have made on our vectorized antibody platform, and it highlights the potential of our partnership in developing novel biological therapies,” said Dr. Jim Summers, Head of Neuroscience Research at Neurocrine.

Parkinson's disease (PD), also known as paralysis agitans, is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. The etiology and pathogenesis of PD remain unclear but may be associated with social factors, medication-related factors, and patient-specific factors.

α-Synuclein is a protein composed of 143 amino acids, present in various cell types, including erythrocytes. α-Synuclein is primarily located in the presynaptic terminals of neurons and in glial cells.

(Compiled by Hu Xuan)