At the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, three companies—Aera Therapeutics, 4D Molecular Therapeutics (4DMT), and Solid Biosciences—converged on a single theme shaping the next era of genetic medicine: delivery is no longer a supporting act but part of the main event. Each company is tackling the delivery problem from a distinct angle, yet together they illustrate how the field is maturing beyond first-generation tools toward more precise, scalable, and patient-friendly solutions.
Aera Therapeutics: Targeting LNPs for mRNA delivery
Emerging from stealth with deep roots in RNA delivery and CRISPR science, Aera Therapeutics is focusing on a new frontier: cell-specific, non-viral delivery. Founded by molecular biology pioneer Feng Zhang, PhD, Aera is creating targeted lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) aimed at immune cells instead of the liver, beginning with in vivo CAR T therapies.
Instead of permanent gene editing, Aera delivers mRNA transiently, allowing CAR expression for days rather than a lifetime. CEO Akin Akinc, PhD, a former Alnylam delivery veteran, explained that this design choice prioritizes safety, repeat dosing, and a product profile closer to a conventional biologic than bespoke cell therapy. The company has re-engineered LNP composition to avoid hepatic sequestration and to actively target defined immune cell subsets while maintaining scalability and manufacturability. Aera is a good example of how lessons learned from RNA interference (RNAi) and LNP manufacturing during the COVID-19 pandemic are being used to create new types of drugs. The company plans to start clinical trials in 2026.
4DMT: Direct evolution of AAVs
4DMT has spent more than a decade applying directed evolution—a Nobel Prize–winning concept—to engineer adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids that function as optimized drugs rather than borrowed products of nature. According to co-founder and CEO David Kirn, MD, the payoff is now visible, with Phase III trials underway for large retinal indications, including wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.
The retina has served as an ideal proving ground, enabling localized, low-dose intravitreal delivery, avoiding systemic exposure, and supporting long-term expression in non-dividing tissue. Using directed evolution, 4DMT developed capsids capable of traversing the inner limiting membrane while remaining stable, manufacturable, and less susceptible to antibody binding. The result is a one-time treatment that could replace years of repeated anti-VEGF injections.
Beyond ophthalmology, 4DMT is applying the same approach to lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, identifying aerosolized vectors that penetrate mucus and provide durable gene expression while avoiding the risks of high-dose systemic gene therapy.
Solid Biosciences: Rebuilding gene therapy piece by piece
Bo Cumbo, Solid Biosciences president and CEO, struck a more incremental but equally strategic tone. Solid Biosciences positions itself as a precision medicine company with deep expertise in gene therapy, focused first on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Friedreich’s ataxia, and catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), a rare, inherited arrhythmia syndrome. While advancing its pipeline—highlighted by the first patient dosed in Friedreich’s ataxia—the company is also quietly building an ecosystem around next-generation delivery tools similar to the approach by AI-evolution-based AAV engineers Dyno Therapeutics, which kicked off the 2026 JP Morgan conference by unveiling a new CNS-targeting vector.
Rather than chasing “home runs,” Solid optimizes across many variables at once: capsids, promoters, dual plasmids, buffers, full-to-empty ratios, and clearance kinetics. Modest gains in each dimension add up, Formula-1 style, to a safer and more effective therapeutic vehicle. Crucially, Solid is sharing these improvements with smaller biotechs and academic groups that cannot afford to reinvent delivery themselves. The vision at Solid Biosciences is that, over time, a large fraction of new gene therapy constructs will contain Solid technology under the hood, making the entire field more investable by moving past first-generation AAVs.
A shared inflection point
Despite their differences, all three companies reflect a broader shift underway in genetic medicine. Delivery is no longer assumed; it is engineered, optimized, and in some cases evolved. The focus is moving away from rare, one-off academic constructs toward scalable platforms that fit real-world clinical practice, whether that means a standard eye injection, a nebulizer, or an off-the-shelf infusion.
At JPM 2026, the message was clear: the next breakthroughs in genetic medicine will not come from bigger payloads or bolder promises alone, but from mastering how and where those payloads are delivered.
