Circio, Acuitas Partner to Advance In Vivo CAR‑T Therapy Using Circular RNA

Circio Holding ASA, a biotechnology company developing novel circular RNA expression technology for gene and cell therapy, has initiated a technology evaluation agreement in the area of in vivo CAR-T cell therapy with Acuitas Therapeutics, based in Canada.

Current mRNA-based approaches are promising, but the short duration of expression of only a few days may limit their efficacy and applicability. Circio claims its proprietary circVec technology can achieve up to six months expression in lymphocytes in vivo. This feature provides an extended therapeutic window that can open multiple new development opportunities for in vivo cell therapy.

“The in vivo CAR-T field is accelerating rapidly, and two pre-clinical stage circular RNA companies with such programs were recently acquired in major pharma transactions,” said Dr. Victor Levitsky, CSO of Circio. “Acuitas has developed a state-of-the-art LNP delivery platform to specifically deliver Circio’s circVec constructs into T-cells. By combining the unrivaled expression durability of circVec with the delivery precision of Acuitas’ LNPs, we aim to establish a novel in vivo CAR-T concept for cancer and auto-immune diseases where an extended expression window is required.”

As part of the agreement, Acuitas will formulate circVec into their proprietary LNPs designed for active targeting to CD8+ or CD4+ T-cells. Circio will subsequently test the activity and durability of these modified T-cells both in vitro and in vivo. The goal is to determine the therapeutic potential of circVec for in vivo CAR-T therapy in the area of oncology and auto-immune diseases. 

“We are excited to begin working with Circio in this technology evaluation agreement, combining our expertise in lipid nanoparticle technology with their circular RNA technology,” said Dr. Ying Tam, CSO of Acuitas Therapeutics. “Through this evaluation, we aim to explore new possibilities in next-generation therapeutics, including in vivo CAR T approaches, and advance the development of transformative treatments for patients.”