The Life Sciences team advised Tessera Therapeutics on an agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to jointly fund the company’s in vivo program for sickle cell disease (SCD). The funding includes an initial investment, with potential total investment of up to $50 million, from the Gates Foundation intended to support the development of Tessera's SCD program into the clinic. The investment will support Tessera’s efforts towards advancing a SCD treatment and help further its objectives to develop transformative genetic medicines that are accessible globally.
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. Their Gene Writing platform is designed to write therapeutic messages into the genome by efficiently changing single or multiple DNA base pairs, precisely correcting insertions or deletions, or adding exon-length sequences and whole genes. Tessera Therapeutics’ proprietary lipid nanoparticle delivery platform is designed to enable the in vivo delivery of RNA to targeted cell types. They believe their Gene Writing and delivery platforms will enable transformative genetic medicines to not only cure diseases that arise from errors in a single gene, but also modify inherited risk factors for common diseases and create engineered cells to treat cancer and potentially autoimmune and other diseases. Tessera Therapeutics was founded in 2018 by Flagship Pioneering, a life sciences innovation enterprise that conceives, creates, resources, and develops first-in-category bioplatform companies to transform human health and sustainability.
The Goodwin team was led by Sarah Solomon, Stephanie Richards, Joe Flynn, Alison Liou, and Stuart Cable.
For more information on the deal, please read the press release.