Circio presents groundbreaking in vivo data showing up to 50-fold enhanced circVec-AAV gene expression in eye
* New data in eye: New in vivo results show that AAV-circVec 4.0 outperforms conventional mRNA-based AAV expression by up to 50-fold following local delivery to eye * Validation in heart: Previously reported 40-fold enhanced gene expression in heart has been further validated and extended, confirming the potential of the AAV-circVec approach in cardiac disease * Successful fundraising: NOK 68.6 million (approx. USD 7 million) was raised in a 50% oversubscribed financing transaction to support broadened and accelerated development of the circVec platform
Oslo, Norway, 26 February 2026 -- Circio Holding ASA (OSE: CRNA), a biotechnology company developing novel circular RNA expression technology for gene and cell therapy, today announces it is presenting new and confirmatory in vivo data for its circVec-AAV expression platform. The in vivo results show, for the first time, up to 50-fold enhanced AAV-circVec expression in the eye compared to conventional mRNA-based AAVs. These results open ophthalmology as a promising avenue for development of circVec based gene therapy.
Circio management will provide an overview of the new circVec results and a financial update in a live webcast at 10:00am CET, today, 26 February 2026. CTO Dr. Thomas B Hansen will present a summary of recently completed experiments testing AAV gene therapy enhanced by the latest generation 3.2 and 4.0 designs of Circio's circular-RNA expression platform circVec in heart and eye.
Local delivery of AAV-circVec 4.0 to the eye achieves the strongest improvement vs. mRNA-based AAV to date, with up to 50-fold increased gene expression observed in vivo. Importantly, the data also demonstrate that AAV-circVec still can outperform a conventional AAV by 10-fold when delivered at a 90% reduced dose level.
Increasing industry interest is one of the reasons Circio has selected eye disease (ophtamology) as another area of development, as evidenced by several recent strategic transactions by major pharma companies and specialist investors. The circVec platform offers a novel circular RNA-based gene expression system that has the potential to substantially increase the potency, reduce toxicity and lower cost for AAV-based therapeutics targeting genetic and degenerative eye diseases with high unmet medical need.
In parallel, Circio has continued to build the AAV-circVec 3.2/4.0 data package in heart. The previously reported 40-fold gene expression increase has been reproduced in new experiments, and molecular analyses of ex vivo tissue samples demonstrate that 80% of heart cells are positive for circVec expression following systemic AAV delivery at low doses. Moreover, RNA and AAV DNA copy number quantification confirm, as expected, that the circVec expression advantage is directly caused by the increased durability of circular RNA vs. mRNA, which validates the main scientific rationale underpinning the circVec platform.
"Circio is undertaking broad characterization and optimization of the circVec technology, and the strong AAV gene expression performance in heart has now been exceeded by in vivo data in eye," said Dr. Thomas B Hansen, CTO of Circio. "The expanding data package clearly demonstrates the potential of the circVec platform to improve efficacy, safety, and accessibility of AAV gene therapy. Next, our focus will be to apply these promising technical findings in disease-relevant contexts, with the aim to develop therapeutic AAV-circVec constructs to treat heart and eye disease with high unmet medical needs."
Earlier in Q1 2026, Circio completed a financing, first announced in December 2025, raising a total of NOK 68.6 million (approx. USD 7 million) in a 50% oversubscribed rights issue and parallel private placements. The transactions will provide Circio with the required capital to accelerate circVec R&D activities over the next twelve months. An associated warrant structure with exercise in June 2026 can bring in additional capital and extend the financing runway well into the second half of 2027.
"The robust technological foundation, unique expertise and strong in vivo data, combined with the recently announced R&D collaboration with a global pharma company, were key elements to achieve a highly successful fundraising," said Dr. Erik Digman Wiklund, CEO of Circio. "With strong support from existing shareholders, we were able to raise substantially more funds than originally targeted. The capital infusion will enable Circio to expand the R&D team in Stockholm, accelerate circVec platform development and deliver important scientific milestones to generate new business development opportunities and support Circio s continued growth."
Presenters: CEO Dr. Erik Digman Wiklund CTO Dr. Thomas Birkballe Hansen
Time: 10:00 CET on Thursday 26 February 2026
Click here to access Teams webcast (https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/31333387615034?p=2AsTUx1434hLnCr0FC) Meeting ID: 313 333 876 150 34 Passcode: 8SA24KF2
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
About Circio Building circular RNA expression systems for enhanced gene and cell therapies
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 40-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.
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to MAR article 17 and section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 2026-02-26 07:00 CET.
This stock exchange announcement was published by Mats Hermansen, VP Finance, on behalf of the Company, at the time and date stated above in this announcement.