Protiva Biotherapeutics is using liposomes to deliver plasmids, or pieces of DNA. The liposome cover does two things; it protects the plasmid from being quickly degraded in the circulation. And it improves targeting to tumors, since liposomes gather preferentially at sites of vascular leakage--generally the disorganized vasculatures of tumors.

The alarm bell is ringing for companies developing adenoviral vectors for gene therapies, particularly those meant to treat liver disease. But every firm in the field is now on alert.

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered extraordinary levels of collaboration. But competition remains, and many newly created coalitions have yet to be stress tested.