Voyager Therapeutics Supports Rare Disease Day® and Global Movement to Raise Awareness for Rare Diseases

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 28, 2017 -- Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VYGR), a clinical-stage gene therapy company developing life-changing treatments for severe diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), today recognizes the 10^th Annual Rare Disease Day dedicated to elevating global awareness of rare diseases.  Rare Disease Day takes place every year on the last day of February (February 28 or February 29 in a leap year)—the rarest date on the calendar—to underscore the nature of rare diseases and the special challenges faced by individuals and their families affected by rare diseases.  First established in Europe in 2008 by EURORDIS, the organization representing rare disease patients in Europe, rare disease day is now observed by more than 80 nations and is sponsored in the U.S. by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)®, the largest and leading independent, nonprofit organization committed to the identification, treatment, and cure of rare diseases.

In recognition of Rare Disease Day, Voyager will participate in the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council event, Rare Disease Day 2017: Patient Involvement in Research, joining patient groups, patients, other member companies, and legislators dedicated to discovering and developing treatments for the world’s rarest diseases.  The event is open to the public and will take place today at 11 a.m. ET in the Great Hall of the Massachusetts State House.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a disease is rare if it affects fewer than 200,000 people.  Nearly 1 in 10 live with a rare disease—affecting 30 million people in the U.S. alone—and nearly half of these patients are children.  There are only approximately 450 FDA-approved medical treatments for the more than 7,000 rare diseases.  For more information about Rare Disease Day in the U.S., go to www.rarediseaseday.us and for information about global activities, go to www.rarediseaseday.org.  To search for information about rare diseases, visit NORD’s website, www.rarediseases.org.

About Voyager Therapeutics

Voyager Therapeutics is a clinical-stage gene therapy company developing life-changing treatments for severe diseases of the CNS.  Voyager is committed to advancing the field of AAV gene therapy through innovation and investment in vector engineering and optimization, manufacturing and dosing and delivery techniques.  The Company’s pipeline focuses on severe CNS diseases in need of effective new therapies, including advanced Parkinson’s disease, a monogenic form of ALS, Friedreich’s ataxia, Huntington’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and severe, chronic pain.  Voyager has broad strategic collaborations with Sanofi Genzyme, the specialty care global business unit of Sanofi, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School.  Founded by scientific and clinical leaders in the fields of AAV gene therapy, expressed RNA interference and neuroscience, Voyager Therapeutics is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  For more information, please visit www.voyagertherapeutics.com.  Follow Voyager on LinkedIn.

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 law. The use of words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “undoubtedly,” “project,” “intend,” “future,” “potential,” or “continue,” and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  For example, all statements Voyager makes regarding the initiation, timing, progress and reporting of results of its preclinical programs and clinical trials and its research and development programs, its ability to advance its AAV-based gene therapies into, and successfully complete, clinical trials, its ability to continue to develop its product engine, its ability to add new programs to its pipeline, its expected cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at the end of a fiscal year and anticipation for how long expected cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will last, and the timing or likelihood of its regulatory filings and approvals, are forward looking.  All forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions by Voyager’s management that, although Voyager believes 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.  These statements are also subject to a number of material risks and uncertainties that are described in Voyager’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by its future filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made.  Voyager undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. 

Investor Relations:    
Matt Osborne
Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
857-259-5353
[email protected]  

Media:            
Josephine Butler
Pure Communications, Inc.
910-337-0707
[email protected]