Oslo, Norway, 24 August 2023 – Circio Holding ASA (OSE: CRNA), a biotechnology company developing novel circular RNA and immunotherapy medicines, today announces its first half 2023 results.
Members of Circio’s executive management team will give an online presentation to investors, analysts and the press at 10:00 CET today (details below).
FIRST HALF 2023 HIGHLIGHTS
Corporate
- The company was rebranded as Circio, an innovator in next generation circular RNA therapeutics
- A convertible bond facility with Atlas Special Opportunities was established, securing up to NOK 300 million in financing over three years
- The organization was restructured to reflect the new strategic focus on circRNA, which will lead to significant payroll savings
Circular RNA
- Technical proof-of-concept was established for novel circVec vector types and designs, including demonstrating 15X extended half-life vs. mRNA in vitro
- A patent application was filed for the circAde concept
- Two circRNA posters were presented at the major oncology and gene therapy conferences AACR and ASGCT
Mutant KRAS
- The first patient was dosed with TG01 in the multiple myeloma study at Oslo University Hospital
- The first patient was dosed with TG01 in the anti-PD-1 combination study in pancreatic cancer at Kansas University, USA
Erik Digman Wiklund, CEO commented: “Circular RNA is a powerful new format for RNA therapeutics, and with our differentiated circVec platform we have a unique opportunity to take a leading role in this emerging space. We are rapidly building our technical capabilities to demonstrate the versatility and broad potential of our technology and put Circio in position to capture the significant potential of vector-delivered circRNA.”
Key figures
| Amounts in NOK thousands | 1H 2023 | 1H 2022 | FY 2022 |
| Total operating revenues | 10 002 | ||
| Total operating expenses | -72 519 | -59 786 | -503 593 |
| Operating profit/loss | -72 519 | -59 786 | -493 591 |
| Net financial items | -3 443 | 164 | -1 737 |
| Income tax | – | 21 | 62 430 |
| Net profit/loss | -75 962 | -59 601 | -432 898 |
| Basic and diluted EPS (NOK/share) | -0.40 | -0.32 | -2.30 |
| Net change in cash | -34 652 | -55 884 | -115 667 |
| Cash and cash equivalents start of period | 66 015 | 181 682 | 181 682 |
| Cash and cash equivalents end of period | 31 363 | 125 798 | 66 015 |
The interim financial information has not been subject to audit
Presentation
We invite to a live webcast today at 10.00 CET. You can join the webcast here. It will be possible to submit questions during the presentation.
Reporting material
The half year report and presentation are also available at the website www.circio.com.
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For further information, please contact:
Erik Digman Wiklund, CEO
Phone: +47 413 33 536
Email: erik.wiklund@circio.com
Renate Birkeli, Investor Relations
Phone: +47 922 61 624
Email: renate.birkeli@circio.com
About Circio
Building next generation RNA therapeutics
Circio Holding ASA is a biotechnology company developing novel circular RNA and immunotherapy medicines.
Circio has established a unique circular RNA (circRNA) platform to develop novel circRNA medicines for cancer, vaccines, rare disease, protein replacement therapy and cell therapy. The proprietary circVec technology is based on a modular genetic cassette design for efficient biogenesis of multifunctional circRNA that can be deployed for many purposes. The most advanced concept, circAde, builds on the company´s validated adenovirus platform to deliver circRNA for durable expression of therapeutic proteins directly into cancer cells. This unique approach is the only currently known circRNA program capable of targeting solid tumors. The circVec platform has broad potential applications, and Circio´s strategy is to generate one or more lead candidates for in house development in specific disease indications and in parallel seek partnerships for other technical applications and therapeutic areas. The circRNA R&D activities are being conducted by the wholly owned subsidiary Circio AB based at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
In addition to Circio’s circRNA program, the Company’s’ clinical stage immunotherapy programs are designed to activate the patient´s own immune system to fight cancer cells and provide benefit to patients with no or few treatment alternatives. ONCOS-102 has demonstrated an excellent safety profile, strong immune responses and clinical efficacy in several cancer types in Phase 1/2 studies, both as monotherapy and in combinations with checkpoint inhibitors or standard-of-care chemotherapy. A phase 2 trial to confirm the therapeutic activity of ONCOS-102 in melanoma patients resistant to PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor treatment has been designed, and Circio is seeking external financing and/or partnerships to continue the clinical development.
Circio’s second clinical stage program is an immunotherapy targeting KRAS driver mutations. TG01 has previously shown robust immune responses and encouraging clinical benefit in surgically resected pancreatic cancer and is currently being tested in two clinical trials in RAS-mutated pancreatic cancer and multiple myeloma in the USA and Norway. These studies are being run through academic collaborative networks, supported by prestigious research grants from Innovation Norway and the Norwegian Research Council, creating broad future optionality for the TG01 program at low cost to Circio.