CRNA: Circio and Full Circles Therapeutics jointly announce in vivo cell therapy research
2026-08-26 07:00:06
* The collaboration will combine Full Circles Therapeutics' immune silent
C4DNATM vector platform with Circio's circVec platform for enhanced and more
durable gene expression
* The objective is to evaluate the potential synergy of these complementary
technologies to develop efficient and re-dosable non-viral gene therapies
* The collaboration is the latest in Circio s strategy to broadly test the
performance of circVec in multiple settings to identify potential
therapeutic applications
Oslo, Norway, and Watertown, Massachusetts, USA -- 26 August 2026 -- Circio
Holding ASA (OSE: CRNA), a biotechnology company developing novel circular RNA
expression technology for gene and cell therapy, and Full Circles Therapeutics
Inc., a Boston MA based biotechnology company developing non-viral
immune-evasive DNA writing platform technology for next generation gene and
cell therapy, today jointly announce a research collaboration to evaluate the
combination of Circio's circVec expression technology with Full Circles
Therapeutics' C4DNATM -- a novel minicircular single-stranded DNA (cssDNA) for
in vivo cell therapy.
Currently available cell therapies, such as CAR-T therapy, represent a
powerful modality to treat cancer. However, these rely on complex and costly
ex vivo manufacturing. Novel approaches focus on creating in vivo CAR-T
directly in patients. These depend largely on short-lived mRNA or viral
vectors that carry notable safety risks and cannot be re-dosed. Circio and
Full Circles Therapeutics have partnered to create a non-viral,
non-integrating and immune silent in vivo cell therapy platform, designed to
be safe, durable and re-dosable.
"Circio's circVec platform has shown specific and durable expression in the
spleen in vivo, far outlasting synthetic RNA-based approaches. This shows the
significant potential of circVec for in vivo engineering of T-cells and
B-cells," said Dr. Victor Levitsky, CSO of Circio. "Full Circle Therapeutics
has developed single-stranded DNA vector format that minimizes immune
recognition. This provides a major safety and toxicity benefit compared to
conventional double-stranded DNA. The aim of the collaboration is to develop a
joint non-viral delivery solution for next generation gene and cell therapy
that is safe for patients, re-dosable and simple to manufacture."
A central challenge in non-viral gene therapy is that double-stranded DNA is
rapidly detected by the patient's immune system. This identification triggers
severe immune responses and rapid vector elimination. Full Circles
Therapeutics minimizes this issue by engineering and production of cssDNA
vectors that naturally avoid immune recognition. Under the collaboration, Full
Circles Therapeutics will design and manufacture C4DNATM vectors that carry
circVec inserts. Circio will then assess the delivery and expression of these
circVec C4DNATM vectors to evaluate their performance and immunogenicity in
vitro and in vivo.
"Partnering with Circio will combine two complementary technologies with the
potential to address key limitations of current in vivo cell therapy
approaches," said Dr. Howard Wu, co-founder and CSO of Full Circles
Therapeutics. "Our C4DNATM platform is designed to enable immune-evasive DNA
modality with the capacity to deliver extra-larger genetic payloads, while
Circio's circVec technology has demonstrated the potential for increased and
durable expression. Together, we aim to develop a differentiated, non-viral
platform for in vivo cell engineering that could enable durable and re-dosable
therapies while offering the manufacturing and safety advantages of DNA-based
delivery."
About Full Circles Therapeutics
Full Circles Therapeutics is a pioneering biotechnology company dedicated to
advancing genome engineering through innovative non-viral gene editing
technologies. With a focus on developing safer, more efficient, and scalable
genetic modification solutions, the company's proprietary C4DNATM, circular
single-stranded DNA platform aims to revolutionize the development
of next-generation cell and gene therapies. For more information,
visit www.fullcirclestx.com
(https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4322865-1&h=2304447986&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.f
ullcirclestx.com%2F&a=www.fullcirclestx.com).
For Media Inquiries:
Contact: Flora Zhang
Director of Communications
134 Coolidge Ave,
Watertown, MA USA 02472
Email: (mailto:%20387543@email4pr.com) admin@fullcirclestx.com
Phone: (410) 733-0130
About Circio
Circio Holding ASA is a biotechnology company developing novel circular RNA
expression technology for gene and cell therapy.
Circio has established a unique circular RNA (circRNA) vector expression
technology for next generation RNA, DNA and viral therapeutics. The
proprietary circVec platform is based on a modular genetic construct designed
for efficient biogenesis of multifunctional circRNA inside target cells. The
circVec platform has applications in multiple therapeutic settings, including
genetic medicine, cell therapy and chronic disease. It has demonstrated
75-fold increased RNA half-life and up to 50-fold enhanced protein expression
vs conventional mRNA-based viral and non-viral vector systems, with the
potential to become a new gold-standard gene expression technology. The
circVec R&D activities are being conducted by the wholly owned subsidiary
Circio AB in Stockholm, Sweden
For further information, please contact:
Erik Digman Wiklund, CEO
Phone: +47 413 33 536
Email: erik.wiklund@circio.com
Neil Hunter -- Hunter PR
Phone: +44 782 125 5568
Email: neiljameshunter@gmail.com
Phone: +47 413 33 536\
Email: erik.wiklund@circio.com\
\
Neil Hunter -- Hunter PR\
Phone: +44 782 125 5568\
Email: neiljameshunter@gmail.com\