CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VYGR), a biotechnology company dedicated to breaking through barriers in gene therapy and neurology, today announced the appointment of George Scangos, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Scangos has decades of experience building and leading biopharmaceutical companies, having previously served as CEO of Exelixis, Inc.; Biogen, Inc.; and most recently Vir Biotechnology, Inc.

“George is one of the most accomplished executives in the biotechnology industry, and we are honored to have him join our Board of Directors,” said Alfred W. Sandrock, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Voyager. “As Voyager works to solve the delivery challenges constraining the fields of gene therapy and neurology, we look forward to tapping into George’s perspectives gained from advancing multiple innovative medicines that have delivered value to patients and shareholders.”

“Neurology remains one of the great areas of unmet need in medicine, and as we begin to see a new era of scientific breakthroughs in this field, I believe Voyager’s gene therapy and neuro-genetic medicine programs will represent significant advancement,” said Scangos. “As I have gotten to know the Voyager team, I have been impressed by the quality of the science and the team, and I look forward to advising them in their quest to enable disease-modifying and possibly curative neurotherapeutics.”

Scangos most recently served as President and CEO of Vir from 2016 to 2023. Under his leadership, the company successfully delivered life-saving therapies for Ebola and COVID-19 to millions of patients while also building a pipeline spanning five therapeutic areas. Prior to joining Vir, Scangos served as CEO and as a member of the Board of Biogen, Inc. for six years. Previously, he spent 14 years as President and CEO of Exelixis, Inc. Scangos has received numerous accolades and recognitions for his industry leadership. Notably, he was among the top 10 CEOs to be named as “Businessperson of the Year” by Fortune in 2014 and 2015. He was also named one of “The Best Performing CEOs in the World” by Harvard Business Review in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Scangos served as Chair of PhRMA in 2016, and as the Chair of the California Healthcare Institute in 2010. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Cornell University; the Board of Overseers of the University of California, San Francisco; and the Board of Trustees of Life Science Cares. Prior to joining industry, Scangos was a Professor of Biology at Johns Hopkins University. He received a B.A. in Biology from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Massachusetts.

Scangos’ appointment to Voyager’s Board of Directors became effective today.

About Voyager Therapeutics

Voyager Therapeutics (Nasdaq: VYGR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to breaking through barriers in gene therapy and neurology. The potential of both disciplines has been constrained by delivery challenges; Voyager is leveraging cutting-edge expertise in capsid discovery and deep neuropharmacology capabilities to address these constraints. Voyager’s TRACER AAV capsid discovery platform has generated novel capsids with high target delivery and blood-brain barrier penetration at low doses, potentially addressing the narrow therapeutic window associated with conventional gene therapy delivery vectors. This platform is fueling alliances with Pfizer Inc., Novartis and Neurocrine Biosciences as well as multiple programs in Voyager’s own pipeline. Voyager’s pipeline includes wholly-owned and collaborative preclinical programs in Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, and Friedreich’s Ataxia, with a focus on validated targets and biomarkers to enable a path to rapid potential proof-of-biology. For more information, visit www.voyagertherapeutics.com.

Voyager Therapeutics^® is a registered trademark, and TRACER™ is a trademark, of Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. 

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. The use of words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “target,” “project,” “intend,” “future,” “potential,” or “continue,” and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

For example, all statements made by Voyager regarding the contributions Dr. Scangos may make as a member of Voyager’s Board of Directors; and all statements made by Dr. Scangos regarding the potential for Voyager to overcome certain challenges associated with gene therapies and neuro-genetic medicines, are forward looking statements.

All forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions by Voyager’s management that, although Voyager believes such forward-looking statements to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that Voyager expected. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the ability of Dr. Scangos to perform his duties as member of the Board successfully; the continued development by Voyager of its platform technology and pipeline programs; and the sufficiency of Voyager’s cash resources to fund its operations and corporate objectives.

These statements are also subject to a number of material risks and uncertainties that are described in Voyager’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by its subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made. Voyager undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise this information or any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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