- United Immunity and Circio has initiated a collaboration in the area of in vivo cell therapy
- Circio´s circVec circular RNA expression system will be tested together with United´s P-LNP delivery technology targeting myeloid cells, such as macrophages and dendritic cells
- The aim of the collaboration is to assess whether circVec can prolong gene expression and be deployed to enhance United´s CAR-M in vivo therapies
Oslo, Norway, 26 March 2026 – Circio Holding ASA (OSE: CRNA), a biotechnology company developing novel circular RNA expression technology for gene and cell therapy, today announces that it has entered a research collaboration in the area of in vivo CAR-Macrophage (CAR-M) therapy with United Immunity Co., Ltd., based in Tokyo, Japan.
Circio has previously demonstrated that its proprietary circVec circular RNA expression technology can substantially enhance and prolong the activity of conventional gene and cell therapy approaches. In this new collaboration, United Immunity will test whether circVec can be delivered with its P-LNP platform to target myeloid immune cells and extend payload expression. The aim is to determine the therapeutic potential of combining the circVec and P-LNP technologies for in vivo CAR-M, a novel therapeutic approach against cancer, fibrosis, and autoimmune disorders.
“In vivo cell therapy is currently an extremely active development field highlighted by several recent strategic transactions, including two circular RNA companies” said Dr. Victor Levitsky, CSO of Circio. “United Immunity has a very interesting and clearly differentiated drug delivery approach targeting immune cells in the tumor, which we mutually believe can act synergistically with Circio´s circVec circular RNA expression technology. If the combination works as expected, the collaboration may lead to the generation of a joint platform for completely novel CAR-M in vivo therapies.”