Pfizer is paying Voyager $30 million upfront to get access to its TRACER adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector technology, which aims to improve the safety of gene therapies – a field that has suffered a string of safety scares in the last few months.
Also on the table is $20 million in payments tied to options on AAV capsids for neurologic and cardiovascular gene therapy applications, and $580 million in back-end milestones.
The TRACER capsids are designed to target cells and tissues in the body more effectively, allowing the dose of gene therapy to be reduced and hopefully fewer side effects than conventional AAV-delivered therapies.
