Voyager Therapeutics Inc.'s shares (NASDAQ:VYGR) rose 24.7 percent to $13.63 on Wednesday as the company announced plans to embark on a pivotal phase II/III program testing its adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) gene therapy, VY-AADC-01, in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) later this year, encouraged by early stage tests in a small group of PD patients. Dosing of the first patient in the pivotal program is expected in the first half of 2018.