Amferia closes €1,2 million investment to combat resistant bacterial infections
Swedish medtech company Amferia announces the successful completion of its latest investment round, boosting its mission to combat wound infections. Investors include Chalmers Ventures. The deep tech company also signed its first commercial agreement with Orkla Wound Care during the second quarter of 2024 for commercialization of the company’s proprietary technology within the animal health segment, a wound dressing for animals that also kills resistant bacteria.
Mölndal, Sweden (September 3rd, 2024): Amferia, a Swedish medtech company focused on developing innovative antimicrobial healthcare solutions, announces the successful closure of a €1,2 million investment round. The round was over prescribed and spearheaded by existing owners and a few new investors.
The funding will support the advancement of clinical development within human health and further the commercialization of Amferia’s pipeline built on its proprietary platform, designed to protect and utilize antimicrobial peptides to combat bacterial infections. Amferia has already signed its first commercial agreement with Orkla Wound Care, a leading company within animal wound care, to introduce a wound dressing that also kills resistant bacteria.
"Bacterial infections are likely to surpass cancer and heart disease as a number one cause of human deaths in the future, and this is largely due to resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Our hydrogel technology enables the safe and stable use of antimicrobial peptides, allowing them to effectively target bacteria without harming surrounding tissue. Essentially, we are using antimicrobial peptides to mimic the immune system and reduce the need for antibiotics," says Anand Rajasekharan, CEO and co-founder of Amferia.
“Antibiotics are essential. Without them, we cannot survive. We aim to support the existing arsenal against bacteria. We need a support system for antibiotics and antimicrobials. Our technology is not about replacing antibiotics but helping healthcare professionals use them more effectively.”
“I am very grateful to our owners for investing in Amferia and in our vision of reducing resistant antimicrobial infections globally. I want to say a big thank you to our existing owners for your continued support as well as welcoming our new investors. We look forward to building the future together,” says Agneta Edberg, chairman of Amferia.
“Amferia's first product using our proprietary technology platform is a wound dressing for animal health, offering a new solution for treating wounds and preventing infections in veterinary applications. The company aims to launch further products in the near future, using our platform in human health to provide new treatments for patients at risk of skin and wound infections, also resistant, which makes our technology part of the future solutions.”
Antimicrobial peptides are known for their ability to kill bacteria due to their positive electrostatic charge, which attracts the negatively charged bacteria. This allows the peptides to puncture bacterial membranes and destroy the cells. However, their fragility in natural biological environments has been a major challenge, as enzymes in the human body can destroy these peptides within seconds. Amferia’s hydrogel is a flexible solution that can be adapted to applications where killing bacteria is critical — with the added advantage that it kills even resistant bacteria.
Amferia's patented hydrogel platform addresses this challenge by encasing the peptides in a solid gel, keeping them stable. This design protects the peptides from natural enzymes, allowing their bacteria-killing structures to remain active. The hydrogel is applied in wound dressings, meaning it does not have to be ingested, reducing the need for time-consuming clinical trials.
“We believe this investment will help Amferia advance its hydrogel platform and bring it to the market for human use. A portion of the funds will be allocated towards regulatory and post-regulatory work for human use. It will also help Amferia form new strategic partnerships to ensure a smooth market entry,” says Jonas Bergman, Investment Director at Chalmers Ventures.
For additional information:
Anand Rajasekharan
CEO and co-founder of Amferia
About Amferia
Amferia's antimicrobial amphiphilic hydrogel kills bacteria, even resistant bacteria without harming the body. The material was developed through several years of research in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology and the first product from this technology platform is a wound-care dressing for dry-to-low exuding wounds. Amferia's innovative, anti-microbial solution can be used on wide-ranging wounds from simple skin injuries, post-operative wounds to chronic wounds and trauma / burn wounds. The WHO predicts that antibiotic-resistant infections, including those from wounds could become one of the leading causes of both illness and death over the next ten years. The material is being investigated for continuous development in several other areas, including sprays for deep wounds, and coatings for implants and a variety of catheters.
Amferia is committed to further research and development to expand the applications of its hydrogel technology. The company aims to improve infection control and patient outcomes across various medical fields. Today, Amferia has ongoing clinical investigations in Europe and is seeking CE marking and FDA clearance for human application.
Read more about the products, team, technology and publications at www.amferia.com.
About Chalmers Ventures
Chalmers Ventures is a leading Tech Investor and Venture Builder in the Nordics, dedicated to creating global growth companies and taking new technology from lab to market. Focus is on university spin-outs and deep tech. We employ a unique dual approach that integrates venture creation with tech investments, harnessing the potential of new research and deep tech within Chalmers. Our expertise lies in initiating and nurturing companies from groundbreaking research, ensuring a robust pipeline of high-quality ventures in which we invest and act as active owners. Our involvement extends through the entire company lifecycle until exit, with the aim to generate substantial business success and make a positive global impact.
