Biotechnology companies Circio Holding ASA (OSE:CRNA) and AaviGen GmbH on Wednesday announced a research collaboration to develop circVec-enhanced AAV vectors engineered for targeted, low-dose gene therapy for heart disease.

This partnership combines Circio's proprietary circVec circular RNA platform, which has demonstrated 40-fold enhanced gene expression from AAV vectors in the heart, with AaviGen's proprietary AAV capsids designed for targeted delivery to heart cardiomyocytes.

The companies said the collaboration will assess the potential synergy of the two technologies in creating next-generation AAV candidates for cardiac applications, with the goal of achieving lower therapeutic doses, high cardiac-specific expression and reduced off-target effects. The research program will be conducted in three stages: production of novel AAVs using AaviGen's heart-targeted capsids and Circio's circVec expression cassette, in vitro testing and characterisation, and in vivo validation focused on biodistribution and gene expression across different vector designs.

If successful, the companies said the collaboration could address key challenges in AAV-based gene therapy and advance new treatment approaches for genetic and chronic heart conditions.