What Tevard Biosciences does

Tevard Biosciences is a preclinical-stage biotechnology company developing tRNA-based gene therapies for rare genetic diseases caused by nonsense mutations — premature stop codons that halt translation and prevent formation of functional full-length proteins. Founded in 2017 by MIT molecular cell biologist Professor Harvey Lodish together with Daniel Fischer and Warren Lammert (both parents of children with Dravet syndrome), the company operates from Boston's Lilly Gateway Labs and runs a lean organization of 11–50 employees.

The company's core platform centers on engineered suppressor tRNAs delivered via AAV vectors that read through premature stop codons to restore full-length protein production. Unlike gene-replacement or exon-skipping approaches, the platform targets a class of mutations rather than a specific gene, allowing the same therapeutic construct to address multiple diseases. Preclinical data includes restoration of full-length dystrophin to approximately 70% of wild-type levels in DMD mouse models with functional muscle rescue, and restoration of full-length titin (TTN) in a dilated cardiomyopathy model. The disclosed pipeline comprises three programs: TTN for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), DMD for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and a DEE program covering developmental and epileptic encephalopathies including Dravet syndrome, with a stated strategy to use basket clinical trials across nonsense-mutation indications.

Tevard is pre-revenue with no commercial products; the revenue model anticipates future income from licensing, partnerships, or direct commercialization upon regulatory approval, likely through specialty pharmacy distribution for rare diseases. Capital has come primarily from a single nonprofit, CureDuchenne (repeat investments in 2023 and 2026), and a prior collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals was terminated as part of Vertex's broader retreat from AAV-based gene therapy. The company engages the market through scientific conferences, peer-reviewed publication, and patient-advocacy partnerships rather than commercial channels.

Name

Tevard Biosciences

Legal name

Tevard Biosciences, Inc.

Website

https://tevard.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tevard Biosciences is a preclinical-stage biotech developing suppressor tRNA gene therapies delivered via AAV to treat rare genetic diseases caused by nonsense mutations, with pipeline programs in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, titin-related dilated cardiomyopathy, and developmental and epileptic encephalopathies including Dravet syndrome.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Gene Therapy for Rare Genetic Diseases

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

AAV Vector Gene Therapy Developers (HLAAACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gene Therapy CMC/Process Development Platforms (capsid engineering, producer cell lines, plasmids, upstream/downstream) (HLAAACAN)

Keywords

• TRNA gene therapy
• Suppressor tRNA therapeutics
• Rare disease biotechnology
• AAV gene delivery
• Nonsense mutation therapy

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Gene Therapy Development and Commercialization: Pre-revenue biotech company developing tRNA-based therapies for rare genetic diseases. No commercial products yet; revenue model not explicitly disclosed but likely to involve licensing, partnerships, or direct commercialization upon regulatory approval.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tevard Biosciences is a preclinical-stage biotechnology company developing a proprietary suppressor tRNA-based gene therapy platform delivered via AAV vectors. The platform targets premature stop codons (nonsense mutations) to restore full-length functional protein production, with a pipeline focused on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, titin-related dilated cardiomyopathy, and developmental and epileptic encephalopathies including Dravet syndrome.

Product overview

Tevard Biosciences is a preclinical-stage biotechnology company developing a unified tRNA-based gene therapy platform. The platform utilizes suppressor tRNA technology to target and overcome premature stop codons (nonsense mutations), enabling restoration of full-length functional proteins. The company's pipeline includes three distinct therapeutic programs: the TTN Suppressor tRNA Program for dilated cardiomyopathy (titin-related), the DMD Suppressor tRNA Program for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and the DEE Suppressor tRNA Program for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies including Dravet syndrome. This disease-agnostic platform approach allows the same therapeutic construct to potentially treat multiple conditions, with the advantage of targeting genes of any size, achieving protein restoration limited to gene-expressing cells, no risk of overexpression, and durable effects with AAV delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tevard Suppressor tRNA Gene Therapy Platform A proprietary suppressor tRNA-based gene therapy platform delivered via AAV vectors that targets premature stop codons (nonsense mutations) to restore full-length protein production, designed to be disease-agnostic and applicable across multiple rare genetic disorders.
• TTN Suppressor tRNA Program (Dilated Cardiomyopathy) Preclinical suppressor tRNA therapeutic candidate targeting titin (TTN) nonsense mutations for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), with demonstrated restoration of full-length TTN protein in a mouse model. Addresses a population of more than 70,000 people in the U.S. with TTN-mediated DCM.
• DMD Suppressor tRNA Program (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) Preclinical suppressor tRNA therapeutic candidate targeting nonsense mutations in the dystrophin gene for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), with demonstrated restoration of full-length dystrophin protein and rescue of muscle deficits in a mouse model. Targets the more than 1,700 people in the U.S. living with DMD caused by nonsense mutations.
• DEE Suppressor tRNA Program (Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathies) Preclinical suppressor tRNA therapeutic candidate targeting nonsense mutations causing developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), including Dravet syndrome, intended for evaluation through a basket clinical trial. Addresses the more than 10,000 people in the U.S. with DEEs caused by nonsense mutations, which account for approximately 25% of Dravet cases.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% restoration of wild-type dystrophin protein levels in preclinical DMD models
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Affinia TherapeuticsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffinia Therapeutics was mentioned in context of Vertex's terminated collaborations. The collaboration with Tevard and Affinia was ended when Vertex cut all AAV gene therapy research. Nature of the original Tevard-Affinia relationship is unclear from the source material.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Alltrna: Alltrna is a Flagship Pioneering company developing engineered tRNA therapies that suppress premature stop codons — the same core mechanism as Tevard. It is Tevard's most direct scientific competitor and one of the few companies pursuing engineered suppressor tRNAs as a therapeutic modality.
• hC Bioscience: hC Bioscience develops tRNA-based therapeutics for genetic diseases caused by nonsense mutations. It is one of the small group of tRNA-platform companies directly comparable to Tevard in modality and target indication space.
• Shape Therapeutics: Shape Therapeutics develops RNA editing and tRNA-based approaches for genetic diseases. It overlaps with Tevard in the engineered RNA therapeutic space and in targeting rare genetic disorders through programmable RNA modalities.
• ProQR Therapeutics: ProQR develops RNA-based oligonucleotide therapies (Axiomer) for rare genetic diseases, including approaches that target premature stop codons and mRNA editing. It is a direct peer in the RNA-therapeutics-for-nonsense-mutations space.
• Solid Biosciences: Solid Biosciences develops AAV gene therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, including micro-dystrophin and other constructs. It is a direct competitor in the DMD gene therapy space, although Tevard's full-length protein restoration approach is differentiated.
• Stoke Therapeutics: Stoke Therapeutics develops antisense oligonucleotide-mediated RNA modulation (TANGO) for severe genetic diseases including Dravet syndrome — directly overlapping with Tevard's DEE/Dravet program and rare-disease RNA therapeutic positioning.

Emerging players

• Locanabio: Locanabio is an RNA-targeted gene therapy company developing programmable RNA-binding approaches for genetic neuromuscular and neurological diseases. It is an emerging peer in the RNA-based therapeutic modality space relevant to Tevard's pipeline.
• ReCode Therapeutics: ReCode Therapeutics develops gene therapy and mRNA-based therapeutics for rare genetic diseases including primary ciliary dyskinesia and CF, with a selective organ-targeting delivery platform. It is an emerging peer in rare-disease gene therapy delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Sarepta Therapeutics: Sarepta is the dominant commercial gene therapy company in DMD (Elevidys, exon-skipping PMOs). It addresses the same DMD patient population as Tevard's DMD program and is the established commercial benchmark for the indication.
• BioMarin Pharmaceutical: BioMarin is an established rare-disease biotech with an AAV gene therapy franchise (e.g., Roctavian for hemophilia A). It is a broad incumbent peer in rare-disease AAV gene therapy commercialization and platform development.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TevardB
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tevard-biosciences/posts/?feedView=all

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tevard Biosciences