TESSA® (Tetracycline-Enabled Self-Silencing Adenovirus) is Minaris’ proprietary, plasmid-free AAV manufacturing platform designed to deliver scalable, high-quality, and cost-efficient gene therapy production. Unlike traditional triple transient transfection, TESSA uses an engineered, self-silencing adenoviral system that eliminates plasmid production and transfection-related variability. This enables up to 30x higher AAV yields compared with plasmid-based methods and supports production of up to 80% full capsids pre-enrichment, reducing downstream purification burden and improving final product quality.
Built on suspension HEK293 bioreactor processes, TESSA offers demonstrated scalability with a clear path to 2,000L+ commercial manufacturing. The platform prevents late adenoviral gene expression, resulting in virtually no contaminating adenovirus and significantly reduced residual impurities. Additionally, TESSA has demonstrated greater than 85% reduction in commercial-scale cost of goods, supporting earlier adoption of commercial-ready processes and more sustainable long-term supply.
