VOYAGER THERAPEUTICS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Management Team
- Member of the Science & Technology Committee
- President
Sandrock has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Voyager, as well as a member of the board of directors, since 2022. He also currently serves as a member of the board of directors for Atalanta Therapeutics, Inc.; Verge Genomics, Inc.; Transition Bio, Inc.; and Neurimmune, Inc. Sandrock joined Voyager following a prolific career in biopharmaceutical drug development, in which he spent 23 years at Biogen where he identified and developed novel therapies for a variety of serious diseases. While at Biogen, Sandrock served in positions of increasing responsibility, culminating in his service as Executive Vice President, Research and Development. He also served as Chief Medical Officer and held a seat on the Biogen Executive Committee. Over the course of his tenure, he led the discovery and development, and regulatory approval of numerous medicines including: ADUHELM™, PLEGRIDY®, SPINRAZA®, TECFIDERA®, and TYSABRI®. Sandrock earned a B.A. in human biology from Stanford University, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Harvard University. He completed an internship in medicine, a residency and chief residency in neurology, and a clinical fellowship in neuromuscular disease and clinical neurophysiology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Science & Technology Committee
- Member of the Audit Committee / Member of the Science & Technology Committee
Mackey has served on Voyager's board of directors since 2022. She also serves as a member of the boards of directors of Avid Bioservices, Inc.; IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc.; Rady Children's Hospital; and Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine. She is a seasoned life science executive with more than thirty years of operational experience, highlighted by her tenure as Senior Vice President, Global Research & Development, for Pfizer, Inc. During her tenure at Pfizer, Mackey led La Jolla Labs where she oversaw more than 1,000 staff, delivering a steady-state pipeline of more than two dozen development compounds. Prior to her role at Pfizer La Jolla, Mackey led Strategic Alliances at its R&D headquarters, where she gained extensive experience with both corporate and academic partnerships in the U.S. and global markets. Additionally, she led Pfizer's U.S. R&D efforts in Genomic and Proteomic Sciences, which included biomarker and pharmacogenomics research. Mackey earned her B.S. and Ph.D. in microbiology from Cornell University.
Former Chief Scientific Officer of Voyager and former Vice President of Research at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Science & Technology Committee
Scangos has served on Voyager's board of directors since 2023. He also currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Vir Biotechnology, Inc., and he serves on the Board of Trustees of Cornell University; the Board of Overseers of the University of California, San Francisco; and the Board of Trustees of Life Science Cares. Scangos previously served as the President and CEO for Vir, where he helped bring to market drugs for COVID-19 and Ebola. Prior to that, he spent several years as CEO and a member of the board of directors for Biogen, Inc., where he advanced a portfolio of medicines for neurological diseases including Alzheimer's disease. Before joining Biogen, Scangos served more than a decade as President and CEO of oncology company Exelixis, Inc. Prior to joining industry, Scangos was a Professor of Biology at Johns Hopkins University. He received a B.A. in Biology from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Massachusetts.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Compensation Committee
- Member of the Science & Technology Committee
- Member of the Compensation Committee Member of the Science & Technology Committee
Pierce has been a member of the board of directors since January 2017. He currently serves as entrepreneur-in-residence at Third Rock Ventures LLC. At Third Rock, he co-founded Ambys Medicines, Inc., and served as Chief Medical Officer. Pierce previously served in several roles at Biogen, Inc., including as Senior Vice President leading the hematology, cell and gene therapies division. Prior to Biogen, he served multiple roles in a variety of biopharmaceutical firms, including Bayer, AG; Inspiration Pharma, Ltd; Avigen, Inc.; Selective Genetics, Inc.; and Amgen, Inc., in the areas of tissue regeneration and hematology. Pierce is the co-author of more than 150 scientific papers and an inventor on more than 15 patents. He served on the medical and scientific advisory council, the board of directors and was President of the board of the National Hemophilia Foundation. Pierce also served on the Blood Products Advisory Committee at the FDA and the Committee on Blood Safety and Availability at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He currently serves on the board of directors of the World Federation of Hemophilia and as the organization's Vice President, Medical. Pierce received an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Immunology, both from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and completed his postgraduate training in pathology and hematology research at Washington University in St. Louis.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Compensation Committee
- Member of the Science & Technology Committee
- Member of Voyager 's Board of Directors
Colón has been a member of Voyager's board of directors since 2023. She also currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of CareDx, Inc.; 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. She brings over 25 years of experience in biopharma, genomics, healthcare and industrial biotechnology to the Voyager board. 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, Colón served as President and CEO of ProterixBio, and before that as a partner and senior advisor to New Science Ventures LLC. Previously, among multiple other roles, 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. Colón received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was an National Science Foundation Fellow, and earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar.
Director, University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) Gene Therapy Center & Vector Core; Scientific Director, UMMS-China Program Office; Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, UMMS.
Job Titles:
- Chief Legal Officer
- Member of the Management Team
- Voyager in 2023 As Chief Legal Officer
Trista Morrison
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Chief of Staff to the CEO
Fahey Sandell joined Voyager in 2023 as Chief Legal Officer. She has over 25 years of legal experience spanning in-house roles at multiple biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Voyager, she served as CLO, Corporate Secretary, and Compliance Officer of Jounce Therapeutics, Inc., where she was responsible for all legal matters, including supporting key license agreements with Gilead and the company's merger agreement with Concentra Biosciences, LLC. Prior to joining Jounce, Fahey Sandell served as Vice President, General Counsel and Company Secretary at Vericel Corporation. Fahey Sandell previously held senior positions at Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company and Genzyme Corporation, and she has worked at multiple top-tier law firms. Fahey Sandell holds a B.A. from Duke University and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Audit Committee
- Chairman of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Science & Technology Committee
- Chairman of the Audit Committee / Chairperson of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee
Geraghty has served on Voyager's board of directors since 2014. He also currently serves as chairman of the board of directors of Orchard Therapeutics, plc, and Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and as a director of Fulcrum Therapeutics, Inc. He was previously an entrepreneur-in-residence at Third Rock Ventures and served earlier as Senior Vice President Strategy and Business Development at Sanofi S.A. Geraghty held wide-ranging leadership positions at Genzyme, Corp., including Senior Vice President International Development, President of Genzyme Europe, General Manager cardiovascular, and Chairman and CEO of Genzyme Transgenics (now GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc.). Geraghty received a B.A. from Georgetown University, an M.S from the University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Science & Technology Committee
Onyia has served on Voyager's board of directors since 2023. He is an accomplished scientist with more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Onyia currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., where he leads the drug discovery and non-clinical development teams responsible for bolstering and advancing the company's pipeline of therapeutic candidates. Prior to Neurocrine, he served as the Chief Scientific Officer of Capsida Biotherapeutics, Inc., and previously was the Vice President of Biotechnology Discovery Research at Eli Lilly and Co. At Lilly, Dr. Onyia contributed to the discovery and/or advancement of more than 60 clinical candidates across multiple therapeutic areas, which led to seven approved medicines. He also was responsible for more than 50 pre-candidate programs across multiple therapeutic areas. Onyia holds a B.S. in forest biology from the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry, as well as a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from the SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Compensation Committee
- Member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee
- Member of the Science & Technology Committee
- Member of the Compensation Committee Member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee
Higgins has served on the board of directors since 2015 and as chairman of the board since 2019. He is currently also the chairman of the board of Pulmatrix, Inc., and a board member at Nocion Therapeutics, Inc., Camp4 Therapeutics, Corp; Sea Pharmaceuticals, LLC; and KinDex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Higgins is a serial entrepreneur who has helped launch and build numerous companies during his career. He previously served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Polaris Partners. He also served as Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and held a variety of senior business positions at Genzyme Corp., including Vice President of Corporate Finance and Vice President of Business Development. Higgins received a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.
Job Titles:
- Chief Human Resources Officer
- Member of the Management Team
- Voyager in 2020 As Chief Human Resources Officer
Smith joined Voyager in 2020 as Chief Human Resources Officer. Before joining Voyager, she served as part of the Human Resources Leadership Team at Flagship Pioneering. Prior to Flagship, Smith was Global Human Resources Business Leader for Takeda Pharmaceuticals. She also served in global HR roles at Sanofi as well as Genzyme, Goldman Sachs and Young and Rubicam Advertising. Smith received a B.A. in history from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia and serves on the Board of Directors for Horse Hugs for Heroes, a therapeutic animal non-profit organization based in Maryland.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Compensation Committee
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee
- Member of the Science & Technology Committee
- Chairman of the Compensation Committee Member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee
Vitale has served on Voyager's board of directors since 2020. She is the Chief People Officer at Omada Health, Inc. She is also co-founder of Partners for Wellbeing, a boutique human resources consulting firm, and previously served as Managing Director. Previously, Vitale served as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer at Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche Group. Prior to Genentech, she held senior human resources roles at Procter & Gamble and CIGNA, Corp. Vitale received a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Emory University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member of the Management Team
Pfreundschuh has served as Voyager's Chief Financial Officer since 2022. He has more than 25 years of finance, business development, commercial and public company leadership experience in the life sciences and medical device industries. Prior to joining Voyager, he served as CFO of Frequency Therapeutics, Inc., where he provided executive leadership and guidance to help develop a path forward on the company's hearing program and communicate this to investors. Prior to joining Frequency, Pfreundschuh served as CFO, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary for UroGen Pharma Ltd., where he led the company in raising $162 million and helped transition the company from a development-stage entity to a commercial-stage company, successfully gaining FDA approval of and commercializing Jelmyto®. Prior to UroGen, Pfreundschuh was the CFO of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc., a successful commercial-stage company, where he co-led the sale of Sucampo to Mallinckrodt. He also served in senior roles at Immunomedics, Inc.; CircuLite, Inc.; AstraZeneca, plc; Johnson & Johnson; and Ernst & Young, LLP. Pfreundschuh is a certified public accountant and received his B.S. in accounting from Rutgers University and his MBA from Rider University.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator; Gretchen Stone Cook Chair of Biomedical Sciences, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, and Chair of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Management Team
- Chief Operating Officer, Acting Chief Business Officer
Swartz has served as Voyager's Chief Operating Officer since 2022. She joined the company in 2021 as Senior Vice President, Portfolio Management and Patient Engagement. Prior to joining Voyager, she held several leadership positions at Genzyme. She most recently served as Vice President, Patient and Product Services for Rare Diseases and has held various additional positions including as Senior Vice President, Head of Global and U.S. Business Operations, Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice President, and Senior Director, Finance. Swartz served on the Sanofi Aventis Board of Directors and was a member of the Executive Community Relations Committee. Swartz received her B.A. in political science from Kenyon College.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Science & Technology Committee
- Chairman of Science & Technology Committee
- Member of the Audit Committee / Chairperson of the Science & Technology Committee
Hyman has served on Voyager's board of directors since 2015. He also currently serves as a director of Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc. and of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Hyman is also a core faculty member of the Broad Institute and a Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. Previously, Hyman served as provost of Harvard University, the university's chief academic officer. Hyman has held various additional roles including director of the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, various positions with the National Academy of Medicine, and member of the governing board of the National Research Council. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, former president of the Society for Neuroscience, former president of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Hyman received a B.A. from Yale College, an M.A. from the University of Cambridge, which he attended as a Mellon fellow, and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
Job Titles:
- Chief Scientific Officer
- Member of the Management Team
Carter has been Chief Scientific Officer at Voyager since 2022. Starting in 2016 and prior to his role as CSO, Carter held roles of increasing responsibility at Voyager, most recently serving as senior vice president of research. He led novel gene therapy development programs and supported the development of the TRACER™ platform, the identification of novel AAV capsids, and the execution of multiple successful industry partnerships. Before joining Voyager, Carter served as the Senior Science Advisor to the Office of the Director of the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, where he was the lead scientific advisor and manager for several internal and external science programs, with a focus on moving innovative science concepts toward the clinic. Previously, he led research at BrainCells, Inc., as Senior Director of Biology, including evaluation of novel targets for CNS disease and the preclinical to clinical transition of the company's lead program. Carter received a B.A. in genetics from Texas A&M University, a Ph.D. in genetics from Columbia University, and completed his postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute for Biomedical Research.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the Management Team
- Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Chief of Staff to the CEO
Morrison joined Voyager in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in healthcare public affairs, including strategic communications, investor relations and patient advocacy. She also serves on the board of directors for the Network of Tyrosinemia Advocates and on the advisory board for The Termeer Foundation. Prior to joining Voyager, Morrison served as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for Saniona, where she built and led communications, investor relations, patient advocacy and government relations, in addition to serving as a member of the executive committee. She previously founded the consulting firm PR with Purpose, and her prior roles include Vice President of Communications and Patient Advocacy for rare disease company Sobi in North America, Head of Communications for Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, and reporter and editor for BioWorld Today, as well as various positions at multiple communications agencies. Morrison received a B.S. in marketing and biology from Tulane University.