Deploying the power of 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.

CircRNA is a naturally occurring class of RNA first reported and described in 2011 by Circio employees: VP & Head of Research Dr. Thomas B Hansen and CEO Dr. Erik D Wiklund. To date, thousands of 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, as well as novel regulatory functionalities, and Circio has an ambitious R&D strategy to engineer novel vector-delivered circRNA medicines for cancer, vaccines and rare disease.