A single intravenous injection may one day slow Alzheimer's disease by silencing the gene responsible for toxic tau protein buildup in the brain. Voyager Therapeutics has received FDA clearance to begin human trials of VY1706, a gene therapy that uses a specially engineered virus to deliver a silencing molecule directly to brain cells after a standard IV infusion. In preclinical primate studies, the therapy reduced tau protein levels by up to 75% in critical brain regions with no serious safety signals over 13 weeks. The first human trial will enroll up to 18 people with early Alzheimer's, testing safety first, while also tracking tau biomarkers in spinal fluid and brain scans. Dosing is expected to start in the second half of 2026.
