The innate immune system is the body’s first line of defense against infection. By taking inspiration from natural mechanisms of innate immunity, the Synthetic Innate Immunity program aims to develop medicines that can similarly provide immediate protection against pandemic viruses, such that these medicines could serve as society’s first line of defense against emerging viral outbreaks.

Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) are two important components of the innate immune system. PRRs typically recognize broadly conserved signals of viral infection—most commonly, the presence of viral double-stranded RNA—and trigger the expression of ISGs, the products of which act to inhibit viral replication. Together, PRRs and ISG products form a sense-and-respond system that acts broadly against viral infection. By encoding natural or engineered versions of these innate immune proteins in DNA delivered to the respiratory tract, we could persistently enhance a patient’s natural sense-and-respond capacity, potentially providing prophylactic protection against a broad range of respiratory viruses for months.