Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Neurocrine exits $165M Parkinson pact with Voyager after FDA hold; original 2019 deal valued at up to $1.7 billion.
Second Neurocrine-Voyager pact targets underlying cause of Parkinson with $175M upfront plus $1.5B milestones.
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In January 2019 Neurocrine Biosciences formed a strategic development and commercialization collaboration with Voyager Therapeutics covering Voyager's CNS gene therapy programs: VY-AADC for Parkinson's disease and VY-FXN01 for Friedreich's ataxia, plus two additional TBD programs. Voyager received $165M upfront ($115M cash + a $50M equity investment at $11.96/share) and was eligible for up to $1.7B in development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Outcome to date is mixed: Neurocrine terminated the lead Parkinson's program (VY-AADC) in August 2021 after the FDA placed a clinical hold tied to MRI abnormalities. The Friedreich's ataxia program advanced — Neurocrine/Voyager selected NBIB-'223 (a TRACER capsid-delivered frataxin gene therapy) as the development candidate in February 2024, the program subsequently received FDA orphan drug designation and completed IND-enabling work, and Neurocrine intends to start a Phase 1 trial in the second half of 2026 pending FDA IND clearance.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. / Voyager Therapeutics Inc. (this deal) | 2019 | $1.9B | 54 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. / Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. | 2025 | — | — |
| Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. / Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. | 2026 | $2.9B | — |
| Johnson & Johnson / Legend Biotech Corporation | 2017 | $9.0B | 96 |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated / Semma Therapeutics Inc. | 2019 | $950M | 86 |
| Celgene Corporation / Bristol-Myers Squibb Company | 2015 | $2.0B | 85 |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated / CRISPR Therapeutics AG | 2015 | $2.6B | 85 |
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More: 2019 deals · Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. deals · Gene Therapy deals