Circio Holding ASA (”Circio” or ”the Company”) published its annual report for 2025 on the 15th of April 2026. The following are key events that we have chosen to highlight for 2025 and H1-26:
- Up to ~40x enhanced circVec-AAV expression in heart in vivo, reproduced and further improved with the next-generation circVec 4.0
- Fully funded feasibility study entered with a top-5 global pharmaceutical company for CNS targets
- Up to ~50x enhanced circVec-AAV gene expression in eye, completing a cross-tissue preclinical data package spanning heart, eye, and CNS
- Cash position strengthened from NOK 6m at year-end to NOK 42m at end of Q1-26, with the NOK 250m private placement in April 2026 extending the financial runway into 2030
- Two in vivo cell therapy delivery collaborations entered with United Immunity (CAR-M) and Acuitas Therapeutics (CAR-T), the LNP delivery company behind the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
A Preclinical Data Package that Attracted Big Pharma Engagement and Broad Investor Interest
The second half of 2025 and the first months of 2026 have been the most eventful period in Circio’s history since the Company’s repositioning into circular RNA. Circio has assembled a cross-tissue preclinical data package that has materially strengthened the Company’s external positioning, including up to ~40x enhanced expression in heart versus conventional mRNA-based AAVs, reproduced and further improved with the next-generation circVec 4.0, up to ~50x in eye, and initial CNS data. Analyst Group considers the significance of this data package to extend beyond any individual result. The demonstrated cross-tissue applicability means that circVec is positioned as a platform technology with relevance across multiple therapeutic areas, which broadens the addressable scope of potential licensing agreements and strengthens the Company’s negotiating position relative to prospective partners. The low-dose outperformance in the eye, where circVec outperformed a 10x higher dose of the conventional comparator by ~12x, carries additional strategic weight, as it suggests that circVec could enable significantly lower vector doses in a clinical setting, translating to improved safety margins and reduced manufacturing costs for a future licensee, both of which are central considerations in AAV gene therapy deal economics. Notably, Circio has no established direct competitor in DNA-based circular RNA expression for gene therapy, which means that a prospective licensing partner cannot source this technology elsewhere, a competitive positioning that Analyst Group considers to be an underappreciated element of the licensing thesis. The Company also indicates that systematic screening of novel genetic features is ongoing at the Karolinska Institute, suggesting that the platform has not yet reached its performance ceiling.
The market has responded accordingly. The heart data contributed directly to securing a fully funded feasibility study with a top-5 global pharmaceutical company in CNS, the first instance of a major pharma player committing resources to evaluate circVec, and one that, if successful, could lead to a subsequent licensing transaction, providing both important technology validation and non-dilutive capital. The broader data package underpinned the selection for an oral presentation at the ASGCT 2026 annual meeting, and ultimately the NOK 250m private placement in April 2026, oversubscribed by more than 2x with new Nordic and international investors. Analyst Group views this sequence as a clear demonstration that the circVec platform has crossed a credibility threshold with both pharmaceutical and financial counterparts.
Financial Runway into 2030 Shifts the Licensing Dynamic
Beyond the capital itself, the most important strategic consequence of the NOK 250m private placement is what it does to Circio’s negotiating position. A preclinical-stage company with limited runway is typically forced to accept licensing terms dictated by the partner’s timeline; a company funded into 2030 can afford to be selective, wait for the strongest data package, and negotiate from a position of strength. This is a material shift in the dynamic underpinning the entire commercialisation model. In addition, approx. 68 million warrants remain exercisable in Q2-26, representing further financial optionality. FY2025 total OPEX of NOK 41m (43) was broadly stable Y-Y, while the OCF amounted to approx. NOK -46m (41), implying an average monthly burn rate of approx. NOK 3.8m (3.4). The year-end cash position of NOK 6m subsequently strengthened to NOK 42m at end of Q1-26 following the oversubscribed rights issue, which will be substantially strengthened following the private placement. Analyst Group estimates that the burn rate will increase gradually over the coming years as the Company scales its R&D activities, expands headcount, and invests in new infrastructure to advance the preclinical pipeline and capitalize on the Company’s early-mover advantage in circular RNA-based gene and cell therapy.
Acuitas and United Immunity Signal Growing Pharma Interest in circVec for Cell Therapy…
Alongside the AAV gene therapy pipeline, Circio has taken concrete steps to build out its in vivo cell therapy program through two delivery collaborations announced in 2026. In March, the Company entered a research collaboration with United Immunity to evaluate circVec for in vivo CAR-Macrophage (CAR-M) therapy. In April 2026, Circio announced a technology evaluation agreement with Acuitas Therapeutics, the globally recognised leader in LNP delivery technology, for in vivo CAR-T therapy.
The logic is the same in both cases: developing effective in vivo cell therapy requires both delivering the genetic payload to the right immune cell and keeping it active long enough to achieve a therapeutic effect. Circio’s circVec addresses durability, having demonstrated expression of more than six months in immune tissue on a single dose versus only days for conventional mRNA-based approaches. The delivery partners address targeting, United Immunity to myeloid cells (macrophages and dendritic cells) for CAR-M, Acuitas to T-cells for CAR-T. Analyst Group considers the Acuitas agreement particularly noteworthy given the calibre of the delivery technology being evaluated. Acuitas’ LNP platform enabled the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (COMIRNATY) and ONPATTRO, the first FDA-approved RNAi therapeutic, and represents a potential in-licensing pathway for Circio to access clinically validated T-cell targeted delivery. That Circio is now evaluating a delivery platform of this standing for circVec underscores the Company’s ambition to position itself at the centre of a competitive in vivo CAR-T offering. No financial terms have been disclosed for either collaboration, which Analyst Group will continue to monitor.
…as the Broader In Vivo Cell Therapy Field Approaches Clinical Validation
The expansion of Circio’s in vivo cell therapy partnership portfolio coincides with a period in which the broader field is moving toward clinical validation at an accelerating pace. Kelonia Therapeutics is continuing Phase 1 dose escalation of its in vivo CAR-T therapy KLN-1010 following encouraging first-in-human data at ASH 2025 and FDA IND clearance in January 2026. BMS/Orbital Therapeutics plans to initiate clinical development of OTX-201, notably a circular RNA-based in vivo CAR-T, in H1-26, while AbbVie/Capstan’s CPTX2309 is in ongoing Phase 1 dose-finding and Phase 1 results for EsoBiotec’s (AstraZeneca) ESO-T01 were published in Nature Medicine in March 2026, showing preliminary anti-tumour activity alongside notable safety signals. Analyst Group considers this external newsflow an important contextual factor for Circio, as positive readouts from these programs would further validate in vivo cell therapy as a therapeutic modality, reduce perceived risk across the field, and increase the strategic value of circVec’s demonstrated multi-month expression duration. This is particularly relevant given that the short-lived expression of conventional mRNA-based approaches has been highlighted as a key limitation in early clinical studies. That said, in vivo cell therapy remains at an early stage across the industry with no approved therapies to date, and circVec’s cell therapy collaborations represent longer-term strategic optionality rather than near-term value drivers. However, recent transactions in the space, including several multi-billion dollar acquisitions of preclinical-stage companies, demonstrate that pharmaceutical partners are willing to commit significant capital well ahead of clinical validation.
Concluding Remarks
In summary, Analyst Group considers the past twelve months to have been transformational for Circio, taking the Company from a financially constrained preclinical company to a platform company with a validated multi-tissue data package, a big pharma feasibility study, an expanding cell therapy partnership portfolio anchored by a globally leading delivery partner, and a secured financial runway into 2030. Looking ahead, the Company faces a concentrated pipeline of value-inflection events across 2026: the ASGCT oral presentation in May, in vivo CAR targeted T-cell delivery data (Q2-26), AAV-circVec wet AMD disease-model efficacy data (Q2/Q3-26), CNS PoC data from the ongoing big pharma feasibility study (Q3/Q4-26), and heart disease-model efficacy data (Q4-26). The disease-model readouts in eye and heart are particularly significant, as they represent the step from reporter-gene proof-of-concept to disease-relevant efficacy, the threshold that Analyst Group considers most critical for converting platform validation into concrete licensing discussions. With the financial runway secured into 2030, the key variable is no longer funding but execution. Analyst Group regards Circio as well-positioned to deliver on this agenda and to convert the momentum built over the past twelve months into tangible value-creation events.
We will return with an updated equity research report of Circio.
