ImmunoVec, a biotechnology company pioneering in vivo cell engineering, has emerged from stealth with up to $40.7 million in funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) through its Engineering of Immune Cells Inside the Body (EMBODY) program.
The multi-year award will fund the company’s efforts to advance its novel DNA-loaded polymeric nanoparticle platform from preclinical development through its first human trial.
The EMBODY program, led by ARPA-H Program Manager Dr. Daria Fedyukina, supports technologies that can reprogram immune cells directly within the body. ImmunoVec will conduct its project in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and several other U.S. research institutions. The initiative aims to demonstrate the company’s ability to precisely reprogram immune cells in patients to reset the immune system and potentially transform treatment for life-threatening autoimmune diseases.
Founded by Ryan Wong, Ph.D., and Luke Riggan, Ph.D., ImmunoVec is developing a platform that uses biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles to deliver DNA-based payloads into specific immune cell types. Unlike viral or lipid-based vectors, these polymers are low-cost, non-immunogenic, and scalable for broad clinical use. The company’s proprietary, cell type-specific promoters enable precise delivery and durable expression of genetic instructions only in targeted cells, providing greater safety and therapeutic control.
The technology offers several advantages over traditional ex vivo cell therapies, such as CAR-T, which require removing, modifying, and reinfusing patient cells in costly and time-consuming processes. ImmunoVec’s approach delivers therapeutic instructions directly within the body, potentially reducing treatment time from weeks to days and making cell therapy accessible to more patients.
Under the ARPA-H award, ImmunoVec will develop polymeric nanoparticles designed to engineer natural killer (NK) cells in vivo using a CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) construct. This project aims to deplete autoreactive B cells responsible for autoimmune disease while demonstrating a scalable alternative to conventional cell therapies.
ImmunoVec’s leadership team combines scientific expertise and operational experience in bringing advanced therapies to the clinic. The company has already built a pipeline of gene therapies for rare pediatric immune disorders, including X-linked chronic granulomatous disease, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, and IPEX syndrome. Preclinical data show potential for these therapies to restore normal gene expression and reduce or eliminate symptoms of severe immune dysfunction.
Beyond the EMBODY award, ImmunoVec is also pursuing a Series A financing round to expand its pipeline of next-generation cell therapies for autoimmune diseases, solid tumors, and genetic disorders. The company operates from the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) in Los Angeles, where it collaborates with leading scientists to develop and validate its platform.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are very grateful to ARPA-H for this award, which provides incredible validation for ImmunoVec’s differentiated approach to in vivo cell engineering. By precisely reprogramming immune cells directly within the body, we aim to overcome the fundamental limitations of current cell therapies, and deliver safer, more potent, and far more accessible treatments at an unprecedented scale, speed, and cost.”
Ryan Wong, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder, ImmunoVec
“We founded ImmunoVec to translate this promising, next-generation, cell type-specific platform into the clinic, led by a team with a rare blend of scientific innovation and operational excellence.”
William Woodward, Chairman and Co-Founder, ImmunoVec; Managing General Partner, Anthem Venture Partners
“We created ImmunoVec to fundamentally change how gene and cell therapies are delivered. Compared to ex vivo CAR-T therapies, which can be slow and prohibitively expensive, our in vivo approach can be delivered in days, at a fraction of the cost, and potentially reach far more patients.”
Luke Riggan, Ph.D., Director of Cell Therapy, ImmunoVec
