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If you’ve heard about gene technology, mRNA vaccines, or new treatments for inherited diseases, you might have come across the name Circio and their technology called CircVec.
It sounds advanced and complicated, but I’m going to explain it in a super simple way. No technical jargon without a clear explanation, I promise!

This post is an extension to the topic circVec covered in the last post Circio Holding ASA and circVec

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Who is Circio?

Circio is a Norwegian biotech company (Circio Holding ASA) working on the next generation of medicines based on circular RNA. They specialize in developing better tools for gene therapy -treatments that “fix” faulty genes inside our bodies. Their goal is to make gene therapy stronger, safer, and more affordable so that more patients with serious diseases can get help.

What’s the problem with today’s gene therapy?

To understand CircVec, we first need to look at the basic challenge.
When doctors want to give your body a new protein (for example, to replace a missing enzyme in an inherited disease), they often use AAV viruses or other vectors. These viruses act like “delivery trucks” that bring a recipe (DNA) into your cells.

The recipe is then copied into mRNA -a straight, linear RNA strand. The cell reads this mRNA and produces the protein you need.
So what’s the problem? Regular mRNA breaks down extremely quickly -often after just a few days. That means the effect is weak, short-lived, and requires high doses. This can lead to side effects, high costs, and limited benefit for many diseases.

Here comes the clever part: CircVec and circular RNA

This is where CircVec really shines!
CircVec is Circio’s own patented “genetic cassette” -think of it as a smart, modular building block. It’s inserted into the same AAV viruses or DNA vectors used today.
When the cassette enters your cell, something special happens, the cell does not make ordinary straight mRNA. Instead, it produces circular RNA (circRNA) – an RNA molecule closed into a perfect circle, just like a ring.

Because it’s a circle, the cell’s “breakdown machines” can’t easily grab onto it and destroy it.
The circRNA stays in the body many, many times longer (up to 70–75 times longer half-life than regular mRNA. These are preclinical advantages.)
The cell therefore produces much more protein over a longer period (up to 40–50 times higher protein levels in animal studies, according to Circio’s data).
In short, You get a “factory” inside your cells that works harder and longer with the same amount of medicine.

How does it work in practice?

  1. Design: Circio creates a modular DNA cassette that contains everything needed to make circRNA (special signals that make the RNA loop back on itself).
  2. Delivery: The cassettes are packaged into AAV viruses (or other vectors) and injected where they’re needed -for example, in the eye, heart, muscles, or central nervous system.
  3. Inside the cell: The viruses deliver the DNA. The cell reads it and automatically produces circRNA through a process called “backsplicing.”
  4. Effect: Protein production becomes stronger and can last for months (sometimes several months after a single dose).

CircVec is flexible -it can be adapted for almost any disease where long-lasting protein production is needed.

What does this mean in real life?

  • Stronger effect: You need less medicine to achieve the same (or better) result. In the eye, they have seen up to 50 times higher gene expression.
  • It’s Safer: Lower dose = lower risk of side effects and immune reactions.
  • Cheaper: Less medicine to produce and simpler treatment.
  • Longer lasting: One treatment can last months or years instead of days or weeks.
  • New possibilities: It opens doors for diseases that were previously too difficult to treat (e.g., genetic heart and eye diseases, muscular dystrophy, infectious diseases, and even certain cancers or cell therapies).

Circio has already shown promising results in animal studies on heart, eye, muscles, and more. They are also collaborating with universities and other companies to test it further for infectious diseases and cell therapy.

Why is this so exciting?

The mRNA revolution (like the Covid vaccines) was fantastic, but it has limitations when long-lasting effect is needed. CircVec takes the next step by using nature’s own “super-stable” RNA form -circular RNA that already exists in our bodies.
It’s like switching from disposable bottles to a never-ending water fountain inside your cells.

Final thoughts

Circio’s CircVec is not just another gadget in gene technology -it’s a completely new way of thinking about how we deliver and maintain genetic instructions in the body.
By using circular RNA, we get more effective, safer, and longer-lasting treatments for patients who currently have few options.

The technology is still developing, but the data coming out now (especially from 2025 and 2026) shows it has the potential to change the rules of the game for gene therapy.
If you’re curious for more, I recommend checking Circio’s own website Circio.com for more info.

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Written by Dave 11. April 2026