Circio, Tcelltech Enter CAR-T Cell Therapy Research Collaboration

Editor’s take: Ex vivo manufacturing remains complex and in vivo approaches currently rely on viral vectors that have significant safety concerns. By integrating the technologies developed by Circio and Tcelltech, the companies aim to engineer T-cells without the need for viral vectors. The aim is to develop in vivo cell therapies that are safer and more durable than current in vivo approaches.

Circio Holding ASA, a biotechnology company developing circular RNA expression technology for gene and cell therapy, and Tcelltech GmbH, a biotechnology company developing non-viral, episomal DNA vector technology for the engineering of T cells, entered a research collaboration to combine Circio´s circVec circular RNA expression technology with Tcelltech´s double-stranded, non-integrating nanoSMAR vector platform for the development of next-gen engineered T-cell therapies.

By integrating the technologies developed by Circio and Tcelltech, the parties aim to engineer T-cells with enhanced and sustained CAR/TCR expression, without the need for viral vectors. The aim is to develop in vivo cell therapies that are safer and more durable than current in vivo approaches.

Under the collaboration, Circio and Tcelltech will combine Circio’s circVec circular RNA expression technology with Tcelltech’s non-viral, high-cargo capacity nanoSMAR vector platform and evaluate the combination in engineered T cells through a staged research program. An initial proof-of-concept phase will compare how strongly and how durably the different technology combinations drive gene expression in primary human T cells, followed by a functional phase in which CD19-directed CAR T cells are generated and tested for their ability to kill tumor cells. 

“The combination of Tcelltech’s non-viral, episomal nanoSMAR DNA vector platform with Circio’s circVec expression technology holds great promise for the development of in vivo gene delivery systems that are non-disruptive to target cells, maintain high expression levels, and enable straightforward, cost-effective manufacturing. Furthermore, the exceptionally large cargo capacity of nanoSMAR vectors—beyond what is achievable with viral approaches—enables the design of complex, and sophisticated constructs incorporating multiple payload genes and regulatory elements,” said Dr. Richard Harbottle, Head of Vector Technology and Manufacturing at Tcelltech.

“In vivo T cell therapy is one of the most exciting frontiers for our circVec technology and is a rapidly advancing approach that could make these therapies more scalable and accessible,” said Dr. Victor Levitsky, Chief Scientific Officer of Circio. “Tcelltech´s universal nanoSMAR platform is a promising and differentiated delivery technology for T-cells, which we expect will act synergistically with circVec-enhanced payload expression. This collaboration fits into Circio´s broad business development strategy of testing circVec across multiple modalities and delivery systems to identify the optimal technology combination and identify the most promising therapeutic avenues.”