Rznomics Achieves Breakthrough in CircRNA Production Efficiency

SEONGNAM, South Korea, Sept. 6, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Rznomics Inc, a biopharmaceutical company based in South Korea, has achieved a significant breakthrough in the production of circular RNA (circRNA), a rapidly advancing modality in next-generation RNA therapeutics. The company's latest research, published in the September 4, 2026, issue of Nucleic Acids Research, details a substantial enhancement in the efficiency of circRNA production.

The study, titled "Target Site Selection and P1 Engineering Enable Highly Efficient Circular RNA Production via End-to-End Self-Targeting and Splicing," highlights the optimization of Rznomics' proprietary Self-Targeting and Splicing (STS) technology. This technology enables RNA molecules to form a circular structure during in vitro transcription, a process that significantly enhances the stability of circRNA, making it resistant to enzymatic degradation.

Unlike conventional linear RNA, circRNA's covalently closed-loop structure renders it highly promising for a wide range of RNA-based medicines, including vaccines and protein therapeutics. However, the circularization efficiency generally decreases as RNA length increases, posing challenges for the practical manufacturing of large RNAs. To address this limitation, the Rznomics research team systematically screened target sites for self-circularization and engineered the P1 construct involved in the self-circularization reaction.

The study revealed that self-circularization efficiency can vary significantly depending on the location of the target site within the same RNA sequence, underscoring the importance of optimal target site selection for high-yield circRNA production. The researchers further engineered the P1 construct by introducing a short polyA10 sequence and an antisense sequence designed to strengthen interaction with the target site. This approach improved self-circularization efficiency by up to sevenfold compared to the original STS design.

In experiments using Factor VIII RNA, approximately 7.8 kilo-nucleotides in length, the optimized STS method achieved approximately a two-fold higher circularization efficiency than the widely used Permuted Intron, Exon (PIE) method. These findings demonstrate that integrating strategic target-site selection with P1 construct engineering can enable efficient circRNA production for both short and large RNAs, including those approaching 8 kilo-nucleotides.

According to Dr. Kyung Hyun Lee, the first and co-corresponding author of the study, "By establishing a foundation for the efficient and robust production of circRNA even from large RNA molecules, we expect this technology to help broaden the potential horizons of circRNA application." Dr. Seong-Wook Lee, CEO of Rznomics and co-corresponding author, added, "This milestone further advances our proprietary circRNA platform and strengthens its potential for practical applications. Moving forward, we plan to expand its utility across diverse therapeutic areas, including CAR-T therapies."

Rznomics Inc, founded on its proprietary trans-splicing ribozyme platform for precise RNA editing, continues to innovate in the field of RNA-based gene therapies. The company's lead oncology program, 'Taspitimagene advec (RZ-001),' has been designated as a Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) by the FDA. In May 2025, Rznomics signed a research collaboration and license agreement with global pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company for the development of a novel RNA editing therapeutic. The company subsequently listed on the KOSDAQ market in December 2025 (KOSDAQ 476830).

With this new technology, Rznomics aims to broaden the potential applications of circRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines, addressing the needs of various therapeutic areas. The company's next steps will focus on expanding the utility of its circRNA platform, potentially opening new frontiers in the field of RNA therapeutics.