Voyager Therapeutics Appoints Grace E. Colón, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors
Voyager Therapeutics (Nasdaq: VYGR) has appointed Grace E. Colón, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors effective January 1, 2023. With over 25 years of experience in healthcare and biotech, Dr. Colón previously served as President and CEO of InCarda Therapeutics. Her leadership experience includes pivotal roles at Precigen and Gilead Sciences. The CEO of Voyager, Alfred W. Sandrock, emphasized that Dr. Colón's operational insights will be valuable as the company progresses its neurology and gene therapy initiatives. Voyager aims to overcome gene therapy delivery challenges and has a pipeline targeting conditions like Parkinson's and Alzheimer’s.
- Dr. Colón brings over 25 years of experience in biotech and healthcare, enhancing Voyager's leadership.
- Her appointment is expected to provide valuable operational insights for Voyager's strategic growth.
- Voyager's innovative TRACER™ platform aims to address significant delivery challenges in gene therapy.
- Concerns about continuity and experience gaps may arise with the new leadership addition.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 14, 2022 (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 Grace E. Colón, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Colón has more than 25 years of experience as a healthcare leader, investor and entrepreneur; she most recently served as President, CEO and Director of clinical-stage biotechnology company InCarda Therapeutics, Inc.
“Grace is a seasoned leader who has founded and managed multiple biotechnology and healthcare businesses,” said Alfred W. Sandrock, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Voyager. “As we continue to hone Voyager’s strategy and advance our neurology and gene therapy programs, Grace’s business acumen and operational insights will be of significant value.”
“The combination of an entrepreneurial mindset and innovative science is powerful; I have seen this throughout my career in healthcare and venture capital, and I recognized it at once as I got to know the Voyager team,” said Dr. Colón. “I believe Voyager is poised to finally overcome the delivery hurdles that have limited the fields of neurology and gene therapy, and I look forward to joining the Voyager Board on this journey.”
Dr. Colón most recently served as President, CEO and Director of InCarda Therapeutics, Inc., where she led the company’s growth from seed stage to late-clinical stage and oversaw strategy, commercial planning and pipeline growth. Prior to InCarda, Dr. Colón served as a partner and senior advisor to New Science Ventures LLC, where she led and co-led several investments and provided strategic and operational guidance to multiple life science portfolio companies. Previously, among multiple other roles, Dr. Colón served as a Senior Vice President and President of the Industrial Products Division at Precigen, Inc., (formerly Intrexon Corporation) and in various leadership roles at Gilead Sciences, Inc., including Head of Clinical Operations, Head of Alliance Management, and Head of Commercial Strategic Planning.
Dr. Colón currently serves as a member of the Boards of Directors of CareDx, Inc., (NASDAQ:CDNA); the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Corporation (MIT’s Board of Trustees); and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and she serves as the Executive Chair of ProterixBio, Inc. Previously, she served on the boards of PerceptiMed, Inc.; Paradigm Diagnostics, Inc.; and Cocoon Biotech, Inc. Dr. Colón received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from MIT, where she was an NSF Fellow, and earned a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar.
Dr. Colón’s appointment to Voyager’s Board of Directors will become effective on January 1, 2023.
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 preclinical programs in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), each with 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 suitability and timing of Dr. Colón’s election to Voyager’s Board of Directors and the contributions Dr. Colón may make as a member of Voyager’s Board of Directors; and all statements made by Dr. Colón regarding the potential for Voyager to overcome certain challenges associated with gene therapy 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. Colón to perform her duties as member of the Board successfully; the continued development by Voyager of its pipeline and platforms; and the sufficiency of Voyager’s cash resources.
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.
Contacts
Investors
Investors@vygr.com
Media
Peg Rusconi
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