By Colin Kellaher

Shares of Voyager Therapeutics surged in premarket trading Tuesday after the biotechnology company said it inked a collaboration and license agreement with drugmaker Novartis that is potentially worth more than $1 billion.

Voyager said it will provide Novartis a target-exclusive license to its Tracer capsids and other intellectual property as the companies pursue potential gene therapies for Huntington's disease and spinal muscular atrophy.

Voyager said it will receive $100 million in upfront consideration from Novartis, including a $20 million purchase of newly issued equity, and that it is eligible to receive up to $1.2 billion in preclinical, development, regulatory and sales milestones, along with royalties on sales of products emerging from the collaboration.

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Novartis is buying nearly 2.15 million Voyager shares, which would imply a purchase price of roughly $9.32, a 10% premium to Friday's closing price of $8.44.

Voyager, based in Lexington, Mass., said it expects funds from the collaboration will extend its runway into mid-2026.

Voyager shares were recently up 23% to $10.40 in premarket trading.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 02, 2024 07:31 ET (12:31 GMT)

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