· Circio has raised a total of approx. NOK 10.7 million in new capital from the
exercise of warrants and a private placement carried out on 18 December 2024
· Applications for allocation of available warrants were 3 times
oversubscribed
· The shareholder base has been strengthened by the addition of two new
experienced biotech investors
Oslo, Norway 18 December 2024 - Circio Holding ASA (OSE: CRNA), a biotechnology
company developing powerful circular RNA technology for next generation nucleic
acid medicine, today announces that it has secured approx. NOK 10.7 million in
financing to support the development of its unique and powerful circVec circular
mRNA technology.
Reference is made to two separate announcements made by Circio Holding ASA on 18
December 2024 regarding i) exercise of
warrants (https://www.circio.com/en/circio-holding-asa-preliminary-results-of
-the-warrant-exercise/) and ii) allocation of available warrants and completion
of a private placement (https://www.circio.com/en/circio-holding-asa-allocation
-of-available-warrants-and-private-placement-completed/)
"Following the recently published circVec 3.0 generation data, Circio has
experienced very strong warrant exercise demand, both from existing and new
shareholders. In order to satisfy some of the additional interest and allow
allocation to two new experienced biotech investors, the offering was upsized
with a parallel private placement" said Dr. Erik D Wiklund, CEO at Circio. "The
additional funding will allow Circio to further accelerate the development of
the circVec platform, with the aim of securing our first partnership during
2025. In addition, we now have a strengthened cap-table to support the company
long-term, and a reduced need to draw future tranches from Atlas."
The major allocations in the financing were to existing shareholders Høse AS and
Bækkelaget Holding AS, and new shareholders Star Kapital AS (v/ Tom A Thorsen)
and an undisclosed Norwegian investor.
The proceeds will be dedicated to accelerating development of Circio's circVec
circular RNA technology to establish in vivo proof-of-concept for the lead gene
therapy program, and to expand the platform into a novel cell therapy approach.
With the extra funds, Circio expects to defer the need to draw the next Atlas
convertible bond tranche by 2-3 months.
For further information, please contact:
Erik Digman Wiklund, CEO
Phone: +47 413 33 536
Email: erik.wiklund@circio.com
Lubor Gaal, CFO
Phone: +34 683343811
Email: lubor.gaal@circio.com
About Circio
Building next generation RNA technology for nucleic acid medicine
Circio Holding ASA is a biotechnology company developing powerful circular RNA
vector expression technology for next generation nucleic acid medicine.
Circio has established a unique circular RNA (circRNA) vector expression
platform for novel DNA, RNA and viral therapeutics. The proprietary circVec
technology is based on a modular genetic cassette design for efficient
biogenesis of multifunctional circRNA inside cells, which can be deployed in
multiple therapeutic settings, including genetic medicine, cell therapy and
chronic disease. The circVec platform has demonstrated up to 15-fold enhanced
and more significantly more durable protein expression vs. classic mRNA vector
systems and has the potential to become a new gold-standard platform technology
for nucleic acid and viral therapeutics in the future. The circRNA R&D
activities are being conducted by the wholly owned subsidiary Circio AB based at
the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
In addition, Circio is developing a pan-RAS cancer vaccine, TG01, targeting KRAS
driver mutations. TG01 is currently being tested in two clinical trials: RAS
-mutated pancreatic and lung cancer in the USA and multiple myeloma in Norway.
These studies are being run through academic and industry collaborative
networks, supported by prestigious research grants from Innovation Norway and
the Norwegian Research Council, creating read-outs and future optionality for
the program at low cost to Circio.