Tessera Therapeutics Receives Grant to Advance In Vivo Gene Writing Approaches Towards a Potential HIV Cure

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Tessera Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering a new approach in genetic medicine known as Gene Writing, has received a grant from the Gates Foundation to support early-stage research exploring multiple genetic approaches aimed at developing a scalable cure for HIV. The research will evaluate several potential strategies leveraging Tessera's Gene Writing platform to engineer immune cells in vivo, including approaches designed to disrupt pathways required for HIV infection, introduce antiviral proteins that inhibit viral entry, enable immune cells to produce broadly neutralizing antibodies, and generate engineered immune cell therapies targeting HIV-infected cells.

Why it matters

HIV continues to affect millions of people worldwide, and Tessera's Gene Writing platform could potentially enable new ways to engineer immune cells directly in the body to address this global health challenge. This grant builds upon Tessera's existing investment from the Gates Foundation to develop a curative in vivo genetic treatment for sickle cell disease, further expanding the application of the company's platform towards other critical health issues.

The details

Tessera Therapeutics is pioneering a new approach to genome engineering through the development of its Gene Writing and delivery platforms, with the aim to unlock broad new therapeutic frontiers. The company's Gene Writing platform is designed to write therapeutic messages into the genome by efficiently changing single or multiple DNA base pairs, precisely correcting insertions and deletions, or adding exon-length sequences and whole genes. Tessera's proprietary lipid nanoparticle delivery platform is designed to enable the in vivo delivery of RNA to targeted cell types.

• Tessera Therapeutics received the grant from the Gates Foundation on March 23, 2026.

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