Tessera Therapeutics Advances Gene Writing Technology with Major Funding and Strategic Partnerships
Tessera Therapeutics received up to $41.3 million from ARPA-H to develop in vivo CAR-T therapies using their Gene Writing technology and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery platforms, aiming for direct engineering of CAR-T cells inside the body without viral vectors.
This funding supports Tessera’s focus on in vivo CAR-T therapies for oncology and autoimmune diseases, with preclinical studies showing successful CAR transgene integration and strong targeted delivery to T cells.
Tessera partnered with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a collaboration valued potentially up to $275 million to develop and commercialize TSRA-196, an in vivo gene writing therapy for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), a rare genetic disorder.
TSRA-196 uses Gene Writing to durably edit the SERPINA1 gene responsible for AATD; preclinical studies demonstrated durable editing after a single dose in animal models.
Tessera’s Gene Writing platform allows precise and permanent genome alterations, including single nucleotide changes, exon replacements, and whole gene insertions, using RNA and DNA Gene Writers without double-stranded DNA breaks.
Clinical IND/CTA submissions for TSRA-196 are targeted by the end of 2025, aiming to start first-in-human studies, potentially making it the first clinical application of Tessera’s Gene Writing technology.
The technology promises to simplify and improve gene therapy by enabling one-time, intravenous delivery to write genetic instructions directly into target cells, reducing complexity, cost, and risks linked to viral vector use and ex vivo cell modification.
Tessera’s approach could transform immunotherapies and treatment for genetic diseases by making therapies safer, more accessible, and scalable through in vivo genome engineering.