Regulatory News Service • Nov 24, 2025
Regulatory News Service
Open in ViewerOpens in native device viewer
Circio presents data that further strengthens and broadens its circVec circular RNA expression platform
* New circVec 4.0 construct boosts gene expression level by 50% on top of
highly efficient generation 3 design
* Validation and enhancement of circVec-AAV in heart, showing higher yield,
improved tissue selectivity and reduced toxicity
* circVec-AAV advantage in brain shown for the first time, opening new
opportunity to address major unmet medical needs in CNS disease
* The recently announced R&D agreement with a big pharma demonstrates Circio s
position as the leader in circular RNA gene expression technology
* Flexible access to capital available through 1Q 2026
Oslo, Norway, 24 November 2025 -- Circio Holding ASA (OSE: CRNA), a
biotechnology company developing novel circular RNA expression technology for
gene and cell therapy, today announces it is presenting additional and
substantially strengthened in vivo data for its circVec-AAV expression
platform. The latest results validate and expand on the previously presented
40 times advantage compared to conventional mRNA-based AAVs in heart. Circio
management will provide an overview of the new circVec results, as well as a
business development and finance update, in a live webcast at 10:00am CET,
today, Monday 24 November 2025.
In the presentation, Circio s CTO Dr. Thomas B Hansen will showcase the latest
circVec generation 4 design. This new circVec construct incorporates a novel
genetic element that provides a 50% boost over circVec generation 3, which was
already performing at a very high level compared to conventional mRNA-based
expression systems.
The strong circVec-AAV heart data first presented in May 2025 has been
validated and expanded, adding 50% further improvement with circVec 4.0. Live
in vivo tracking and ex vivo tissue analyses demonstrate that heart-specific
circVec-AAV consistently achieves around 40-fold increased gene expression,
improved tissue specificity and reduced toxicity.
These results clearly demonstrate the potential of the circVec platform to
improve conventional AAV vectors. As such, the circVec technology addresses
major caveats of the current gold-standard approach and offers a solution to
make AAV gene therapy safer and more commercially viable.
In parallel, Circio is testing circVec performance in several other tissues.
Seven-fold increased activity in the eye for locally delivered circVec-AAV was
presented in 3Q 2025. These important findings are now being further explored
in ongoing in vivo experiments. Today, Circio presents emerging AAV in vivo
data showing 4-fold increased expression in the brain, which opens central
nervous system (CNS) indications as a novel circVec development opportunity.
Gene therapy for diseases of the eye and CNS represent areas of increasing
biopharma activity, as evidenced by several recent strategic transactions by
major pharma companies.
"Circio has been undertaking broad characterization, engineering and
optimization of the circVec AAV platform. As a result, we now have an in vivo
data package that confirms enhanced expression, better target selectivity and
reduced toxicity compared to conventional AAVs," said Dr. Thomas B Hansen, CTO
of Circio. "These results clearly demonstrate the significant potential of
circVec to make heart disease gene therapies more effective and safer for
patients. Early data suggests that the circVec advantages also apply for AAVs
delivered locally to the eye and CNS, and we are currently exploring these
findings in a set of ongoing in vivo experiments. In addition, we are
continuing to enhance the underlying circVec technology platform with novel
design features. We are expanding our science team in Stockholm to advance
these opportunities, and look forward to an exciting 2026 with many important
R&D milestones."
During 2025 Circio has continued to implement tight cost controls with a lean
organizational set-up, strictly prioritizing R&D activities that can deliver
near-term technology validation and business development opportunities. Four
funding tranches of NOK 4 million remain available from the financing
commitment extension by Atlas, which provides flexible access to capital
through Q1 2026. Based on the recent strong data and BD activity, Circio is
exploring multiple alternatives to secure additional financing to enable
further expansion and acceleration of its R&D operations.
"The technical achievements of Circio s research team continue to impress,
especially given our lean, cost-efficient set-up," said Dr. Erik Digman
Wiklund, CEO of Circio. "These achievements have now led to Circio entering
its first agreement with a major pharmaceutical company. This provides
important validation of our circVec technology and opens novel therapeutic and
commercial possibilities for the future. We are expanding the circVec platform
with both gene and cell therapy programs, which we anticipate will create
several opportunities for additional partnerships."
Presenters:
CEO Dr. Erik Digman Wiklund
CTO Dr. Thomas Birkballe Hansen
Time: 10:00 CET on 24 November 2025
Click here to access Teams webcast
(https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MmU0NTBhMTQtZjljMy00ODc4LTk4NzQtNzIwMzQwYTljN2U1%40thread.v2/0?context={"Tid"%3a"66b0661a-3ec3-48a8-a966-5b0cce82b3fe"%2c"Oid"%3a"3f5f84b0-5521-4c04-bd8a-e185546abe04"})
Meeting ID: 366 918 860 415 63
Passcode: Kn2Pq9pM
Questions can be submitted in advance by email to Erik D Wiklund:
[email protected] or directly in the live webcast
A recording of the webcast will be made available on the Circio webpage
(http://www.circio.com/)
About Circio
Building circular RNA expression systems for enhanced gene and cell therapies
Circio Holding ASA is a biotechnology company developing novel circular RNA
expression technology for gene and cell therapy.
Circio has established a unique circular RNA (circRNA) vector expression
technology for next generation RNA, DNA and viral therapeutics. The
proprietary circVec platform is based on a modular genetic construct designed
for efficient biogenesis of multifunctional circRNA inside target cells. The
circVec platform has applications in multiple therapeutic settings, including
genetic medicine, cell therapy and chronic disease. It has demonstrated
75-fold increased RNA half-life and up to 40-fold enhanced protein expression
vs. conventional mRNA-based viral and non-viral vector systems, with the
potential to become a new gold-standard gene expression technology. The
circVec R&D activities are being conducted by the wholly owned subsidiary
Circio AB in Stockholm, Sweden.
In parallel, Circio is continuing to develop its legacy immuno-oncology
program, TG01, through cost-efficient external academic and industry
collaborations. TG01 targets RAS-mutated cancers and is being tested in two
clinical trials in Norway and the USA. TG01 is a therapeutic peptide vaccine
adjuvanted by STIMULON QS-21 licensed from Agenus Inc.
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and is subject to the disclosure requirements
pursuant to MAR article 17 and section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities
Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 2025-11-24 07:00
CET.
This stock exchange announcement was published by Mats Hermansen, VP Finance,
on behalf of the Company, at the time and date stated above in this
announcement.
Have a question? We'll get back to you promptly.