Tessera Therapeutics plans to lay off 90 employees even as it prepares to initiate its first clinical study, according to internal documents. The move follows an organizational reshaping as the heavily funded gene editing startup transitions from discovery to clinical execution. Company leaders framed the cuts as part of streamlining operations for the next development phase. The layoffs arrive amid a broader recalibration across gene-editing startups confronting clinical, manufacturing and capital demands as programs move into humans. Tessera had been one of the best-funded firms in the space and the reduction underscores the operational and cost pressures biotech faces at the clinical inflection point. For the sector, the announcement highlights execution risk for platform companies and the need to align headcount and burn with near-term clinical milestones.