Oslo, Norway, and Heidelberg, Germany 27 May 2026 – Circio Holding ASA (OSE: CRNA), a biotechnology company developing novel circular RNA expression technology for gene and cell therapy, and AaviGen Gmbh a biotechnology company focused on precision gene therapies for human cardiac diseases, today jointly announce a research collaboration to develop circVec-enhanced AAV vectors specifically engineered for targeted, low dose heart gene therapy.

By integrating these complementary technologies, the collaboration seeks to pioneer the next generation of AAV gene therapy candidates. The focus is on addressing genetic and chronic heart conditions through therapies that can be administered at low therapeutic doses, ensuring high and confined expression in heart while minimizing off-target effects. This initiative represents a significant step forward in the field of gene therapy, potentially transforming treatment paradigms for patients with heart-related indications.

“The future clinical success of cardiac gene therapies will be determined by precision elements that ensure both efficacy and safety,” said Dr. Martin Busch, COO of AaviGen. “AaviGen’s human heart-derived next-generation cardiac-targeted vector technology enables precision delivery of therapeutic genes and lays the groundwork for the targeted integration of components tailored to specific indications, with Circio’s innovative expression-enhancing platform being a key element. The combination of AaviGen’s targeted capsids with the circVec platform could therefore open the door to a new level of efficiency and safety — an opportunity we are very excited to explore together with the Circio team.”

The collaboration will involve three stages: 1) Production of novel AAVs combining the proprietary heart-targeted capsids from AaviGen with the circVec expression cassette from Circio, 2) Testing and characterization of the novel AAVs in vitro, and 3) Confirmation and validation of AAV performance in vivo with focus on AAV biodistribution and gene expression profiles between different design combinations.

“The novel targeted AAV capsids engineered by AaviGen have the ability to very specifically reach cells in the heart in an efficient and safe manner,” said Dr. Victor Levitsky, CSO of Circio. “This collaboration is an excellent opportunity to evaluate whether enhanced circVec expression can act synergistically with heart-targeted capsids. The combination of our technologies has the potential to maximize on-target gene expression and minimize off-target delivery, resulting in substantial dose reduction and an improved toxicity profile. This can make AAV-based gene therapy accessible for patients with severe inherited heart diseases as well as address large and growing medical need in chronic heart failure.”

About AaviGen

AaviGen was founded on the insight that successful cardiac gene therapy depends on the optimized delivery of genetic therapeutics to the diseased heart. Its human-to-human, cardiac-targeted AAV vector technology sets new standards for precision, efficacy, and safety in the treatment of both acquired and inherited heart diseases. AaviGen’s scientific approach is supported by numerous peer-reviewed publications and builds on the founders’ strong track record of scientific innovation in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, including the development of gene therapy medicines. For more information, please visit: www.aavigen.com.

About Circio
Building circular RNA expression systems for enhanced gene and cell therapies

Circio Holding ASA is a biotechnology company developing novel circular RNA expression technology for gene and cell therapy.

Circio has established a unique circular RNA (circRNA) vector expression technology for next generation RNA, DNA and viral therapeutics. The proprietary circVec platform is based on a modular genetic construct designed for efficient biogenesis of multifunctional circRNA inside target cells. The circVec platform has applications in multiple therapeutic settings, including genetic medicine, cell therapy and chronic disease. It has demonstrated 75-fold increased RNA half-life and up to 50-fold enhanced protein expression vs. conventional mRNA-based viral and non-viral vector systems, with the potential to become a new gold-standard gene expression technology. The circVec R&D activities are being conducted by the wholly owned subsidiary Circio AB in Stockholm, Sweden.

Heidelberg, Germany – June 6, 2025 – AaviGen GmbH, a preclinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of curative gene therapies for cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary diseases, is pleased to announce the successful completion of the German Accelerator U.S. Market Access Life Sciences Program, marking a major milestone in our global expansion and innovation journey.

German Accelerator offers programs to help German startups scale globally by providing tailored support, expert mentorship, and valuable industry connections. German Accelerator is run by Start2 Group and is financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE). We thank Marc Filerman – Managing Partner, Life Sciences, Start2 Group, ranked among the top 3 start-up hubs in Europe as well as the #1 in Europe for Alumni Track Record according to the most recent rankings by the Financial Times.

We also thank the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) for funding the German Accelerator and for its vision in connecting promising life science start-ups with U.S.-based expertise.

Over the past six months, the program has provided AaviGen with unparalleled access to expert guidance, networks, and strategic insights essential for advancing our cardiovascular gene therapy pipeline. We extend our sincere gratitude to Maurice Lee, Program Director, Life Sciences at Start2 Group for expertly stewarding us through the program and to our outstanding mentors—Alan Horsager, Neema Mayhugh, and especially our Lead Mentor, Will Adams—for their invaluable contributions.

We are also pleased to share that Will Adams will be joining the AaviGen Advisory Board. His continued involvement will be instrumental as we accelerate our efforts to bring transformative gene therapies to patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

In these uncertain geopolitical times, the AaviGen leadership team remains steadfast in its mission: to navigate complex global landscapes and build enduring transatlantic bridges—so we can better serve unmet needs in cardiovascular disease.

About AaviGen

AaviGen was founded in 2019 on the understanding that successful gene therapy requires optimized delivery of therapeutic targets to the diseased heart. AaviGen’s scientific approach is documented in numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications and validated by its founders’ track record in scientific innovations for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac diseases, including gene therapy medicinal products. For more information, please see: www.aavigen.com 

AaviGen Investor and Media Contact

Prof. Dr. Marc Lerchenmüller, Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director
AaviGen, Heidelberg, Germany
T: +49 6221 568900
M: +49 151 51646589

marc.lerchenmueller@aavigen.com

AaviGen’s Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute “forward looking statements” as that term is defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements that express the company’s opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, or projections of the company regarding future events or future results, in contrast with statements that reflect historical facts. Examples include discussion of the company’s strategies, financing plans, growth opportunities and market growth. In some cases, you can identify such forward-looking statements by terminology such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “plan,” “seek,” “project,” or “expect,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “potential,” “intend,” or “should,” the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward looking statements are based on management’s current beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to the company. However, these forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of the company’s performance, and you should not place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to many risks, uncertainties and other variable circumstances, including negative worldwide economic conditions and ongoing instability and volatility in the worldwide financial markets, ability to obtain funding, ability to conduct current and future preclinical studies and clinical trials, the timing, expense and uncertainty of regulatory approval, reliance on third parties and collaboration partners, ability to commercialize products, ability to manufacture any products, possible changes in current and proposed legislation, regulations and governmental policies, pressures from increasing competition and consolidation in the company’s industry, ability to manage growth, reliance on key personnel, reliance on intellectual property protection, ability to provide for patient safety, and fluctuations of operating results due to the effect of exchange rates or other factors. Such risks and uncertainties may cause the statements to be inaccurate and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Many of these risks are outside of the company’s control and could cause its actual results to differ materially from those it thought would occur. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. The company does not undertake, and specifically declines, any obligation to update any such statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any such statements to reflect future events or developments, except as required by law.

Heidelberg, Germany – October 9, 2024 – AaviGen GmbH, a preclinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of curative gene therapies for cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary diseases, announces the appointment of Prof. Dr. Toni Cathomen as a member of the scientific advisory board. “Targeted genome engineering is an essential building block for expanding our cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary target indications in AaviGen’s therapeutic pipeline. We are delighted to have Prof. Dr. Toni Cathomen – Director of the Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Gene Therapy, Medical Center – University of Freiburg – as a new member of our SAB. We see Prof. Cathomen’s internationally outstanding expertise, especially in the field of designer nucleases and their gene therapy application, as a key element for AaviGen’s development of curative therapies for genetically caused heart muscle diseases. This perfectly complements our heart-specific AAV vector platform.” says Prof. Patrick Most, CEO of AaviGen GmbH. Prof. Cathomen states that “the cure of a large number of genetically caused diseases will not be possible without the targeted editing of the underlying genomic defects. This is particularly true for heart diseases where gene addition or silencing strategies cannot be used. In my opinion, designer nucleases, such as CRISPR-Cas and the ongoing improvements, will become the highly efficient and safe molecular tools that we urgently need to cure previously incurable diseases. I am very pleased to support AaviGen on this path towards precision gene therapies that combine cardiac and genomic specificity in a unique combination.”

About Prof. Dr. Toni Cathomen

Toni Cathomen is Professor of Cell and Gene Therapy and Director of the Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Gene Therapy at the University of Freiburg, Germany. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Zurich, he held positions at the Salk Institute in San Diego, California, the Charité Medical School in Berlin, and the Hannover Medical School in Germany. Dr. Cathomen’s research focuses on the development of hematopoietic stem cell and immune cell therapies using genome editing to target immunodeficiencies and certain cancers. He has also helped advance the safety of gene therapy by pioneering methods to assess the genotoxic risk of gene editors and gene-edited cell products.

About AaviGen

AaviGen was founded in 2019 on the understanding that successful gene therapy requires optimized delivery of therapeutic targets to the diseased heart. AaviGen’s scientific approach is documented in numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications and validated by its founders’ track record in scientific innovations for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac diseases, including gene therapy medicinal products. For more information, please see: www.aavigen.com 

AaviGen Investor and Media Contact

Prof. Dr. Marc Lerchenmüller, Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director
AaviGen, Heidelberg, Germany
T: +49 6221 568900
M: +49 151 51646589

marc.lerchenmueller@aavigen.com

AaviGen’s Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute “forward looking statements” as that term is defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements that express the company’s opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, or projections of the company regarding future events or future results, in contrast with statements that reflect historical facts. Examples include discussion of the company’s strategies, financing plans, growth opportunities and market growth. In some cases, you can identify such forward-looking statements by terminology such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “plan,” “seek,” “project,” or “expect,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “potential,” “intend,” or “should,” the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward looking statements are based on management’s current beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to the company. However, these forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of the company’s performance, and you should not place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to many risks, uncertainties and other variable circumstances, including negative worldwide economic conditions and ongoing instability and volatility in the worldwide financial markets, ability to obtain funding, ability to conduct current and future preclinical studies and clinical trials, the timing, expense and uncertainty of regulatory approval, reliance on third parties and collaboration partners, ability to commercialize products, ability to manufacture any products, possible changes in current and proposed legislation, regulations and governmental policies, pressures from increasing competition and consolidation in the company’s industry, ability to manage growth, reliance on key personnel, reliance on intellectual property protection, ability to provide for patient safety, and fluctuations of operating results due to the effect of exchange rates or other factors. Such risks and uncertainties may cause the statements to be inaccurate and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Many of these risks are outside of the company’s control and could cause its actual results to differ materially from those it thought would occur. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. The company does not undertake, and specifically declines, any obligation to update any such statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any such statements to reflect future events or developments, except as required by law.

PARIS, France and HEIDELBERG, Germany (Ocober 2, 2024) – SK pharmteco, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for small molecules and advanced therapies, and AaviGen GmbH, a preclinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of curative gene therapies for cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary diseases, today announced a multi-year manufacturing agreement wherein SK pharmteco will be the preferred manufacturing partner for Aavigen’s lead gene therapy product AVG-101 for the treatment of heart failure.

“SK pharmteco is a key partner for AaviGen as part of our strategy to develop and commercialize innovative gene therapies against diseases of the cardiovascular and cardiovascular system,” said Patrick Most, CEO of AaviGen. “The SK pharmteco team offered the trust, competence, and understanding of how a young company like AaviGen must operate in a dynamic market from the first minute of our interactions. We look forward to the collaboration with great confidence.”

AaviGen’s proprietary heart-specific adeno-associated viral vector technology enables the development of therapies that target and reverse the underlying molecular causes of heart muscle dysfunction. By focusing on key areas such as cardioprotection, contractility, and energy metabolism, AaviGen is committed to improving patient outcomes and restoring normal cardiac function.

“We are thrilled to partner with AaviGen on their innovative gene therapy for heart failure,” said Patrick Mahieux, SK pharmteco’s President of Cell and Gene, Europe. “Our deep expertise in viral vector manufacturing and our commitment to quality and efficiency make us the ideal partner to support the development and commercialization of this promising therapy. We look forward to contributing to the advancement of this groundbreaking treatment for patients in need.”

Martin Busch, PhD., COO of AaviGen added: “SK pharmteco stands out from the global pool of suppliers because of its extensive experience in process development and manufacturing of adeno-associated viral-based gene therapies. Additionally, their recent investments in expanding manufacturing capacity provide us with exceptional support from the earliest stages of development to the commercial phase, especially for common cardiac disorders, such as chronic heart failure.”

About AaviGen
AaviGen was founded in 2019 on the understanding that successful gene therapy requires optimized delivery of therapeutic targets to the diseased heart. AaviGen’s scientific approach is documented in numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications and validated by its founders’ track record in scientific innovations for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac diseases, including gene therapy medicinal products. For more information, please see: www.aavigen.com

About SK pharmteco 
SK pharmteco is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with production sites, research & development facilities, and analytical laboratories across the U.S., Europe, and Korea. The company partners with biopharmaceutical companies of all sizes to manufacture Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and intermediates, cell and gene therapy technologies, registered starting materials, and analytical services for the biopharmaceutical industry worldwide. SK pharmteco is a subsidiary of SK Inc. (KRX: 034730) (SK), the strategic investment company for SK Group, South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate. 

Contact

SK pharmteco
Keith Bowermaster, APR, CCMP
Communications Consultant
keith.bowermaster@skpt.com
www.skpharmteco.com

AaviGen
Prof. Marc Lerchenmüller, CFO
contact@aavigen.com
www.aavigen.com

Baltimore, USA – May 11, 2024 – AaviGen, a preclinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing curative gene therapies for cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary diseases, presented its latest developments for its cardiac-specific AAV vector portfolio and therapeutic pipeline at this year’s ASGCT meeting in Baltimore. “We have been extremely pleased with the progress our company has made over the past year in our cardiac-specific AAV vectors from our Next Cap platform and their superiority over benchmark vectors from other developments for cardiac indications,” said Dr. Martin Busch, COO of AaviGen. “AaviGen’s next-generation cardiac vectors will enable the company to tailor effective and safe therapies for both common and rare heart diseases with access to global markets,” said Prof. Dr. Marc Lerchenmüller, CFO of AaviGen.”

About AaviGen

AaviGen was founded in 2019 on the understanding that successful gene therapy requires optimized delivery of therapeutic targets to the diseased heart. AaviGen’s scientific approach is documented in numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications and validated by its founders’ track record in scientific innovations for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac diseases, including gene therapy medicinal products. For more information, please see: www.aavigen.com

AaviGen Investor and Media Contact

Prof. Dr. Marc Lerchenmüller, Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director AaviGen, Heidelberg, Germany
T: +49 6221 568900
M: +49 151 51646589

marc.lerchenmueller@aavigen.com