Voyager Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Toby Ferguson as Chief Medical Officer
March 13 2024 - 7:00AM
Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VYGR), a biotechnology company
dedicated to advancing neurogenetic medicines, today announced the
appointment of Toby Ferguson, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer
(CMO), effective March 25, 2024. Ferguson is a skilled and
experienced healthcare executive with a proven record in advancing
portfolios of novel therapies across diverse indications in central
nervous system (CNS), neuromuscular, and rare diseases. He most
recently served as Vice President, Head of Neuromuscular
Development Unit at Biogen, Inc.
“Voyager is advancing rapidly toward the clinic, with one IND
filing targeted each year through 2026 for our wholly-owned
programs,” said Alfred W. Sandrock, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Chief
Executive Officer of Voyager. “Toby brings an exceptional set of
skills in the design and running of clinical programs, particularly
in neurological diseases, and we believe his expertise will be
immediately beneficial as we work to file our first IND with
VY-TAU01, our antibody targeting pathological tau in Alzheimer’s
disease, in the first half of this year.”
Joining Biogen in 2013, Ferguson held positions of increasing
responsibility, including as Medical Director, Senior Medical
Director, Executive Medical Director, and culminating his time at
Biogen as Vice President, Head of Neuromuscular Development Unit.
During his tenure, he built and developed teams focused on
neuromuscular and movement disorders, overseeing strategy for these
areas across Biogen R&D. Notably, he led the team that
developed QALSODY® (tofersen), the first genetically targeted
therapy for SOD1 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); this
therapeutic received the first accelerated approval based on
reduction of neurofilament, a surrogate biomarker pioneered by
Ferguson, his team, and the broader ALS community. Overall, his
teams at Biogen were responsible for nine successfully executed
INDs and three proof-of-concept clinical trials and filings. Prior
to joining Biogen, Ferguson was Assistant Professor of Neurology,
Shriners Pediatric Research Center and Temple University School of
Medicine. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from University of Florida
College of Medicine and his B.S. from University of Florida,
Gainesville. He also completed a residency in neurology and a
neuromuscular fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I am excited to join Voyager, a company leading the development
of neurogenetic medicines through its innovative approach to
developing novel AAV capsids and delivering therapies across the
blood-brain barrier,” said Ferguson. “In my career, I have always
been driven to seek out new modalities that can profoundly impact
patients’ lives. Voyager represents for me an extraordinary
opportunity to fulfill this mission.”
About Voyager TherapeuticsVoyager Therapeutics,
Inc. (Nasdaq: VYGR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to
leveraging the power of human genetics to modify the course of –
and ultimately cure – neurological diseases. Our pipeline includes
programs for Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(ALS), Parkinson’s disease, and multiple other diseases of the
central nervous system. Many of our programs are derived from our
TRACER™ AAV capsid discovery platform, which we have used to
generate novel capsids and identify associated receptors to
potentially enable high brain penetration with genetic medicines
following intravenous dosing. Some of our programs are wholly
owned, and some are advancing with partners including Alexion,
AstraZeneca Rare Disease; Novartis Pharma AG; Neurocrine
Biosciences, Inc.; and Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. For more
information, visit www.voyagertherapeutics.com.
Voyager Therapeutics® is a registered trademark, and TRACER™ is
a trademark, of Voyager Therapeutics, Inc.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis 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 “will,” “expect,” “continue,” “anticipate,” or “potential,”
and other similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements.
For example, all statements Voyager makes regarding the timing
of the effective date of the appointment of Ferguson, the
contributions Ferguson may make in his role with the Company, and
Voyager’s ability to advance its AAV-based gene therapy programs
and tau antibody program, including expectations for Voyager’s
achievement of preclinical and clinical development milestones for
its potential development candidates such as IND filings, are
forward looking.
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 Ferguson to commence his role
and perform his duties successfully; the continued development of
Voyager’s technology platforms, including Voyager’s TRACER platform
and its antibody screening technology; the initiation, timing,
conduct and outcomes of Voyager’s preclinical studies; and the
sufficiency of cash resources to fund its operations and pursue its
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. All information in the 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.
ContactsTrista Morrison, NACD.DC,
tmorrison@vygr.com Investors: Adam Bero, Ph.D., abero@kendallir.com
Media: Brooke Shenkin, brooke@scientpr.com
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