15 April 2026
2025 was a truly transformative year where Circio established itself as the leading global player in circular RNA (circRNA) expression systems for gene and cell therapy. Major scientific breakthroughs were achieved on the circVec platform, leading to a fully funded collaboration with a top 5 global pharmaceutical company. These events in turn enabled two highly successful capital raises in the beginning of 2026, providing the necessary financial resources to scale up and accelerate our circVec R&D activities and build long-term value for our shareholders.
Expanding and enhancing the platform
Under the leadership of CTO and circRNA discoverer Dr. Thomas Hansen and CSO Dr. Victor Levitsky, we have continued to advance our unique circVec platform to generation 4.0. In AAV gene therapy vectors, circVec 4.0 improves protein expression by 50% vs. circVec 3.2, which was already known to outperform conventional mRNA-based AAVs by up to 40-fold in heart tissue in vivo. Emerging data shows generation 4 delivering strong performance in vivo, highlighted by results published in February 2026 demonstrating that AAV-circVec 4.0 can boost gene expression by up to 50-fold following local delivery to eye. These results suggest that the circVec expression platform has the potential to substantially improve the potency of current gold-standard AAVs. This could transform gene therapy as we know it today, and enable safer, more effective and lower cost therapies for patients with devastating genetic diseases. Even so, further potential remains to optimize the circVec technology platform. Systematic testing is ongoing in our laboratories at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, where our world-leading circRNA scientists have identified multiple novel genetic features that are being screened. We are confident that these innovations will deliver additional firepower to circVec and broaden the potential use areas of the platform.
Disruptive potential for AAV gene therapy
In May 2025, Circio presented breakthrough preclinical results in heart for the circVec-AAV platform at the prestigious global cell and gene therapy conference ASGCT. These results triggered the interest of several potential partners and led directly to the fully funded feasibility study with one of the top 5 global pharmaceutical companies announced in November 2025.
In this collaboration, we are developing and testing novel circVec-AAV gene therapy constructs to address diseases of the central nervous system. The project will be a major priority during 2026, and may, if successful, lead to a subsequent licensing transaction that can provide both important technology validation and non-dilutive capital. In parallel, we are pursuing the striking in vivo data generated in heart and eye. In the upcoming twelve months, we aim to explore and validate these findings in therapeutically relevant contexts and will seek new R&D collaborations to establish therapeutic candidates to bring forward to the clinic. In sum, these activities provide a broad and promising pre-clinical circVec-AAV development program, with several shots on goal that create multiple opportunities for future value creation through partnerships.
Unique position in rapidly advancing in vivo cell therapy field
2025 also saw important progress made on LNP-delivered circVec for in vivo cell therapy applications. This is a field of rapidly advancing industry interest, highlighted by several recent high-value M&A and licensing transactions. Of notable relevance for Circio, among the largest transactions were the acquisitions of two synthetic circRNA companies by BMS and Eli Lilly (Orbital and oRNA Therapeutics, respectively).
Although Circio’s circVec platform is clearly differentiated from the synthetic circRNA approach, these deals highlight the advantages and substantial therapeutic potential that lies in the circRNA format. LNP-delivered circVec offers a unique therapeutic window in the in vivo cell therapy space. Whereas synthetic mRNA and circRNA approaches only allow for transient expression lasting between 2-10 days, DNA-format circVec expression can achieve up to six months durability in immune cells in vivo on a single dose.
The remarkably prolonged expression window may be a critical component to develop effective in vivo CAR therapies for cancer. This represents a major opportunity for the circVec platform, and we are rapidly advancing to confirm and further understand these early, promising findings. Several important R&D milestones are expected during Q2 and Q3, which can lay the foundation for future clinical development programs and partnership opportunities.
Financing in place to accelerate and expand
Based on the major scientific advances on the circVec platform for both gene and cell therapy applications, in combination with the validation provided by the fully funded top tier pharma collaboration, Circio announced a 90% covered rights issue in December 2025. The transaction was completed in Q1 2026 with more than 50% oversubscription, raising around NOK 70 million in gross proceeds, with an associated warrant structure that may add further capital in June 2026.
The highly successful rights issue further strengthened the interest in Circio. Based on this momentum, we carried out an oversubscribed private placement of NOK 250 million in April 2026 directed at new investors. Following these transactions and the upcoming repair and warrant offerings, Circio is very well-capitalized with the necessary resources to accelerate circVec R&D and strategically grow the company, with a cash runway at least into 2030.
Looking ahead
With a strong data package and a robust cash position we can now move beyond the challenging financial period which has severely constrained Circio and the biotech sector for the past four years, both internationally and locally in Norway. The circVec technology is uniquely positioned with clear differentiation and no direct competitors and will serve as Circio’s platform engine to build and develop enhanced and safer gene and cell therapy medications, both in house and through partnerships.
The team and I are very excited to lead Circio forward through 2026 and beyond and execute on the exciting scientific and business opportunities before us.
Dr. Erik Digman Wiklund
CEO of Circio Group