Deploying the power of DNA format circular RNA
The group´s circRNA R&D activities are being conducted by the wholly owned subsidiary Circio AB based at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
Circular RNA (circRNA) is a naturally occurring class of RNA first described biologically in human cells in 2011 by Circio employees: CTO Dr. Thomas B Hansen and CEO Dr. Erik D Wiklund. To date, around 100,000 natural human circRNAs have been identified and shown to play important roles in gene expression and other regulatory functions, particularly in neuronal tissue. Due to their circular structure with no free ends, circRNAs are resistant to the main cellular RNA degradation mechanisms, which dramatically prolongs their half-life compared to linear mRNA. This feature can enable increased and more durable protein expression, which is a major disadvantage for current gold-standard mRNA and gene therapy approaches. Circio has developed a differentiated and proprietary DNA-format circRNA-based protein expression system named circVec, and has an ambitious R&D strategy to engineer novel vector-delivered circRNA medicines for genetic disease.