Business Finland is a public agency that provides funding towards R&D activities for companies in Finland. Targovax Oy, a wholly owned Finnish subsidiary of Circio Holding ASA, received three loans from Business Finland for the development and commercialization of ONCOS-102 in 2010, 2012 and 2013, totalling EUR 6 209 888. The loans were repayable over a ten-year period from 2021-2031 with an interest rate of currently 1.25% p.a.

In 2023, Circio made the strategic decision to prioritize and accelerate pre-clinical development of its innovative circular RNA (circRNA) platform and discontinue the ONCOS-102 program. Following this decision, Circio applied for a waiver of the three ONCOS-102 loans. On 15 January 2024, Business Finland approved the application and granted a waiver in full of the outstanding principal amount and future interest of the three loans. The waiver is subject to the termination of the ONCOS-102 program and its related IP and the liquidation of Targovax Oy, which is ongoing with the relevant authorities in Finland.

Dr. Lubor Gaal, CFO of Circio Holding ASA, said: "The Business Finland loans were granted to Oncos Therapeutics Oy more than ten years ago, and assumed by the Targovax group following the acquisition of Oncos Therapeutics in 2015. We greatly appreciate the goodwill and flexibility shown by Business Finland in waiving these loans, thereby enabling us to fully dedicate our resources towards development of our groundbreaking circVec platform, which has the potential to disrupt the genetic medicine and vaccine fields".

About Business Finland
Business Finland is the government organization for innovation funding and trade, travel, and investment promotion in Finland. More information: https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/for-finnish-customers/home.