A new player in cell therapy is stepping into the spotlight with ambitious plans to reprogram the immune system from within.
Los Angeles based ImmunoVec has launched from stealth with up to $40.7 million in funding from Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Engineering of Immune Cells Inside the Body (EMBODY) program, which supports efforts to design controllable in vivo cell therapies. The company will use the award to advance its polymeric nanoparticle platform toward a first-in-human trial for autoimmune diseases.
Unlike traditional ex vivo cell therapies — where immune cells are removed, modified in a lab, and reinfused into the patient — in vivo cell engineering seeks to reprogram cells directly within the body. This shift could redefine how immune disorders are treated by eliminating complex manufacturing steps, reducing costs, and improving patient accessibility. Ex vivo chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have transformed oncology, but their production remains slow, costly, and often inaccessible to patients with non-cancerous diseases. In vivo approaches, by contrast, aim to make cell therapies as simple to administer as a standard infusion or injection.
Through the EMBODY program, ImmunoVec will collaborate with researchers at Johns Hopkins University, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and other US institutions to evaluate its DNA-loaded polymeric nanoparticle platform, designed to precisely reprogram immune cells. The platform uses targeted, biodegradable polymers paired with cell type-specific promoters that ensure therapeutic genes are expressed only in the intended cells. This “dual-precision” design could help overcome key limitations in viral and lipid-based delivery systems — such as off-target effects, immunogenicity, and manufacturing complexity.
ImmunoVec’s initial ARPA-H-funded project will focus on engineering natural killer (NK) cells in vivo with a CD19-directed CAR construct to deplete autoreactive B cells responsible for autoimmune disorders. If successful, the approach could provide a scalable, noninvasive alternative to existing therapies that rely on ex vivo manipulation or broad immunosuppressants. “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,” said CEO and co-founder Ryan Wong in a press release.
The company’s technology also builds on a growing body of research exploring DNA- and RNA-based in vivo reprogramming tools for oncology, rare disease, and regenerative medicine. ImmunoVec’s polymer-based system offers several advantages over viral vectors: It’s non-immunogenic, low-cost, and easily scalable, while DNA payloads allow for longer-lasting expression compared to mRNA-based systems.
Beyond its ARPA-H project, ImmunoVec is pursuing a pipeline of preclinical programs applying its in vivo engineering platform to rare immune deficiencies such as Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome and IPEX syndrome.
Early data suggests these therapies can restore normal gene expression and reduce disease symptoms. As the company prepares for a Series A financing round, it joins a small but rapidly expanding field of biotechs pushing in vivo cell therapy toward clinical reality — an effort that could fundamentally change how immune modulation and genetic correction are delivered.
