Circio and Full Circles Therapeutics jointly announce in vivo cell therapy research
- 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 C4DNA™ 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.
For Media Inquiries:
Contact: Flora Zhang
Director of Communications
134 Coolidge Ave,
Watertown, MA USA 02472
Email: [email protected]
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