ARPA-H Funds In Vivo Cell Therapy Surge, Backing RNA and Novel Delivery Platforms

WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 10, 2025 – The federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has unveiled the first grant awardees for its Engineering of Immune Cells Inside the Body (EMBODY) program, signaling strong government backing for in vivo cell therapy research. This slew of awards offers a glimpse into the kinds of science the current administration is prioritizing amid broader federal research cuts.

The EMBODY program, launched in April 2024, focuses on technologies that can reprogram a patient’s immune cells in vivo, offering a scalable alternative to complex ex vivo cell therapies.

Major Awards for RNA and Gene Editing Pioneers
Several companies pioneering RNA-based and gene editing technologies secured significant funding:

Kernal Bio and its sub-awardees were granted up to $48 million to advance an in vivo mRNA-encoded CAR T-cell program. This comes even after the administration scrapped $500 million in mRNA vaccine funding.

Tessera Therapeutics netted up to $41.3 million for its gene editing platform, which uses Lipid Nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver an RNA-based “gene writer” to edit DNA in the genome. The goal is to bestow T cells with the ability to fight cancer and autoimmune disease.

“This work builds on the progress we’ve made and has the potential to dramatically improve the accessibility, safety and scalability of currently available CAR-T therapies,” said Michael Holmes, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Tessera Therapeutics.

immunoVec Debuts with Novel DNA Delivery System
One newly emerged biotech, immunoVec, debuted with up to $40.7 million in ARPA-H funding. The Los Angeles-based company is taking a distinct approach:

Technology: immunoVec is developing polymeric nanoparticles to deliver DNA to cells, which it claims offers advantages over viral vectors (like AAV), LNPs, and mRNA payloads.

Focus: The company plans to use this technology to develop in vivo natural killer cell (CAR-NK) therapies targeting rogue B cells for autoimmune disorders.

These ARPA-H awards underscore a fierce competition in the in vivo cell therapy space, a field that has seen major Pharma acquisitions this year, including deals by AstraZeneca, AbbVie, and Gilead Sciences.