”After years of research we suddenly realised how to combine our findings. It was a eureka moment.”
The Amferia story:
Amferia was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, when three PhD researchers who had been collaborating for five years had the idea to combine their findings. In 2016, after several conversations among themselves, Amferia founders Saba Atefyekta, Anand Kumar Rajasehkaran and Martin Andersson conceived a new class of antimicrobial material while working at Chalmers University of Technology .
The approach was to utilise antimicrobial peptides—a potent antimicrobial molecule that Saba Atefyekta was investigating for biomaterial applications — in combination with a new amphiphilic hydrogel developed by Anand Rajasekharan for his PhD research on synthetic bone.
Within the first two weeks, we noted that the idea was sound and worked perfectly, which is a rarity in science”
During a conference visit to Montreal in May 2016, Saba, Anand and Martin dove deeper into discussions and realized their combined research had uncovered potential for real-world biomedical applications. ”After all these years of research we suddenly realised how to combine our findings. It was a eureka moment,” said Saba.
Excited by their discoveries, Saba and Anand returned to the lab and initiated the first trial runs, synthesizing the material and testing it on bacteria. “Within the first two weeks,we noted that the idea was sound and worked perfectly, which is a rarity in science,” said Anand.
After months of trials and more trials focused on optimizing the commercial viability of the product, the founders knew their idea had life beyond the lab and science publications. They knew they could develop a new, innovative product to target and kill bacteria in medical applications.
The team immediately reached out to the innovation arm of Chalmers University and filed for a patent. Then they engaged in intense market research, while continuing further experiments on resistant bacteria.
By late 2017, the first patent was filed, the hydrogel had been proven to kill bacteria — including numerous resistant bacteria — and was safely used in biological environments without toxicity. Most importantly, the founders agreed their first product using the new technology should address wound care.
By late 2017, the first patent was filed, the material proven to kill bacteria including numerous resistant bacteria
With further support from Chalmers innovation Office and a seed funding from Chalmers Ventures, Amferia was officially incorporated in September 2018. Both Anand and Saba, completed their PhDs and jumped on board to continue their full-time journey, translating fundamental research into new products for human and animal health.
Today Amferia is a talented team of seven, with dedicated personnel for business development, sales, clinical development, product development and production.
Protected by strong patents granted in Europe, the U.S. and China
Patent portofolio:
Amferia’s innovation is protected by three strong patent families. The basic patent is already in force in China, the U.S. and Europe, and pending in several other countries. Ongoing R&D continues to generate new patent applications.
Currently, strong patent protection extends over Amferia’s core technology and key intellectual property, creating the potential for rapid and robust growth into human and animal health care. Because the patents extend to both the U.S. and Europe, Amferia is poised to enter partnerships that enable market leadership well into the future.
Amferia's patent families
— Antimicrobial hydrogel technology (Application nr. 17512773) was filed in 6 countries and granted in Europe, the US and China, pending in the remaining countries. The patent is the foundation of Amferia's innovation and claims a new amphiphilic antimicrobial material, a device comprising the antimicrobial material and a method to produce the same.
— Mesoporous elastomer technology is Amferia's second patent family that claims a tough and nanostructured elastomeric material for various medical device applications.
— Utilizing antimicrobial technology in spray form was filed in 2020 and is currently granted in Sweden (1951495-9) and expected to be granted in other countries by early 2023. Utilizing the Amferia antimicrobial technology in spray form that can be applied to deeper wounds, bleeding wounds and surfaces for rapid disinfection.
Amferia has been recognised by numerous organisations for its innovative research, entrepreneurial drive, business traction in multiple sectors and swift progress towards clinical translation.
Anand Rajasekharan, PhD, CEO & Co-founder. Anand holds a PhD in Materials Science from Chalmers University of Technology and is one of the inventors of the material platform serving Amferia’s healthcare technology.
Saba Atefyekta, PhD, Sales & Marketing Director & Co-founder.Co- inventor behind Amferia’s technology. Holds a PhD in Materials Science from Chalmers University and her thesis describes the antimicrobial platform of Amferia’s technology. Today, she leads business development in human and animal health.
Martin Andersson, PhD, R&D Director & Co-founder. Fifteen years’ experience in biomedical research with 100 scientific publications. He has previously started a med-tech company for bone implants with successful implementation of products into the market. Professor, Materials Science at Chalmers University.
Ingvar Karlsson, CFO. Previously CFO from both public and private companies covering life science and medtech, automotive and premium consumer goods spanning over 40 years.
Daniel Hagberg, PhD, CTO. Ten years experience in product development and manufacturing from the speciality chemicals and healthcare industry. PhD in Materials Science from Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Rojan Modaresi, DVM, PhD, Product Manager, Animal Health. Responsible for Amferia’s wound products for animal care and works at the interface between product development and customer interaction at veterinary clinics across Europe. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and PhD in Microbiology from Urmia University, Iran.
Edvin Blomstrand, PhD., Research Engineer. Responsible for the product design and device optimization for wound care applications. Skilled in material design, antimicrobial testing and cell-material assessment. PhD in Materials Science from Chalmers University.
Maya Awada, MSc., Research Engineer. Responsible for the new product design and development for wound care applications. Skilled in material chemistry and antimicrobial testing. MSc in Biotechnology from Chalmers University.
Peter Andersson, Director of Commercial Partnerships. Leads business development and sales, responsible for new partnerships for Amferia with Strategics and Distributors across the globe. Peter has 20+ years expereince from sales and BD in medtech, pharma and diagnostics.
Therese Rydell, Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs. Leads quality and regulatory affairs at Amferia. Therese has 10+ years expereince from QA/RA leadership roles in medtech and diagnostics.
My Sjöblom, Research Engineer. Responsible for the product design and device optimization for wound care applications. Skilled in material design, antimicrobial testing, microfluidics and cell-material assessment. Holds PhD in Biotechnology from Chalmers University.
Ulrika Holmquist, Clinical Development Manager. Responsible for the clinical development of Amferia wound care for animal health. Ulrika is authrorised veterinarian in Sweden and a professional race horse jockey.
Board of Directors
Agneta Edberg, Chair. Previously Nordic Senior VP of Mylan, COO Bactiguard, Marketing Director at Pharmacia, Pfizer and CEO NM Pharma and several life science board assignments
Björn Engström. Previously Co-founder and Copywriter at Forsman & Bodenfors, several board assignments in scale-up companies and experienced in life-science marketing
Martin Andersson, PhD, Co-founder. Professor in Materials Science at Chalmers University and co-inventor of Amferia Technology. Co-founder of Promimic AB, an bone-implant scale-up.
Anders Husmark. Industry expert in wound care and surgical devices. Previously R&D Director of Surgical at Mölnlycke Health care and Business Development Director at RLS Global
Alexandra De Wever Treschow, PhD, Experienced CEO of life science companies, presently CEO of NordX Pharma, previously at Aprovix AB, PhD in Gene Therapy
Henrik Jansson, Investment Director & CEO at Almi Invest VästSvergie, previously CEO of several SMEs
Advisors
Dr. Christian Nees, Clinical Advisor Animal Health, Veterinary surgeon with 35 years of experience in surgery and wound care. Previously the head of Animal Health Hospital in Weingarten (Kleintierzentrum Weingarten), Germany.
Therese Rydell Joins Amferia as Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs
October 23, 2025
Amferia is happy to welcome Therese Rydell as the Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs. Therese has extensive background from quality and regulatory operations in med-tech industry bringing knowledge and experience for the continued growth of Amferia. The company is now expanding the animal health business to new markets and pursuing regulatory approval in the US.
Therese has a solid background in QA/RA from global companies in the Medtech field spanning over 10 years in leading roles such as; Global QA Engineer at Mölnlycke HealthCare, Quality and Regulatory Manager at Integration Diagnostics Sweden and most recently as Senior Regulatory Affairs Specialist, International Registrations at Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions. At Amferia, Therese will head up the QA/RA operations and enable bringing high quality products to patients. Therese’s extensive knowledge in the life science industry will be important for Amferia’s scale-up journey in both human and animal wound care.
Anand Kumar Rajasekharan, CEO of Amferia − “We are delighted to welcome Therese, whose knowledge of quality and regulatory affairs strengthens Amferia’s position as a competent and cutting-edge SME. We look forward to jointly achieve the upcoming key milestones such as the expanding our animal health business to new markets and pursuing FDA and CE regulatory processes for human health.
Therese Rydell− “Amferia is an exciting company to join and build. The technology offers a paradigm shift in wound care with nontoxic properties still killing bacteria, even the resistant ones. In a world where antimicrobial resistance is an increasing challenge to humanity, I am glad to be a part of reducing that threat".
For more information, please contact: Anand Kumar Rajasekharan,
Amferia welcomes Ulrika Holmquist, DVM, as Clinical Development Manager - Animal Health
October 12, 2025
Ulrika is a registered veterinarian educated at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala. During her career, she has built an impressive international career caring for racehorses across New Zealand, North America, the Middle East, and Europe.
Her focus has always been on high-performance care and preventative medicine.Ulrika is passionate about driving progress in veterinary medicine and translating new technologies into meaningful clinical impact. Joining Amferia as Clinical Development Manager for Animal Health gives her the opportunity to contribute to the development of our antimicrobial technology an area with immense potential for improved outcomes and sustainable care.
A warm welcome to Amferia’s new Board Members
August 4, 2025
We are proud to introduce the addition of two remarkable individuals to our Board of Directors. Each new member brings a wealth of diverse experience and knowledge to our team which will further strengthen Amferia’s position in addressing antibiotic resistance and infection management.
Anders Husmark has over 20 years of leadership experience within woundcare and surgical care, and was previously the R&D Director, Surgical Division, Mölnlycke Health Care followed by leading Business Development for RLS Global. Anders brings decades of expereince and practical knowledge on clinical implementation of new technologies that will serve as the foundation for next steps for Amferia, when entering the human health market.
Henrik Jansson is presently an CEO and Investment Director at Almi Invest Väst Svergie focusing on medtech, healthtech and greentech. Henrik has over 20 years of experience in the building and running companies and has a broad knowledge on scaling up operations and long-term strateigc development.
New Study finds Amferia's Peptide-Hydrogel restores the effectiveness of antibiotics against drug-resistant bacteria
November 25, 2024
Amferia announced findings that antibiotic-resistant bacteria can regain its sensitivity to antibiotics when combined with the company’s peptide-hydrogel. Results of a collaboration between Chalmers University of Technology and Amferia show that antibiotics can have a 64 times higher bactericidal effect when used together with Amferia’s proprietary material, whose antibacterial properties are also greatly enhanced by this combination.
Peptides have long been known to possess potent antimicrobial properties, destroying bacteria by disrupting the integrity of cell membranes rather than by chemical processes. Until recently, the problem with applying peptides to medical needs like wound care has been their fragility. Peptides are easily destroyed by naturally occurring enzymes and salts in the body. Amferia’s innovation is a hydrogel material that protects the peptides without compromising their bacteria-destroying structures.
In order for this material to be used clinically--in combination with standard treatments like antibiotics, for example—researchers had to ensure that the hydrogel does not negatively affect the antibiotic's effectiveness when used simultaneously.
The new findings demonstrate the peptide-hydrogel’s substantial potential for applications in various medical devices and infection treatments.
The study produced surprisingly positive results: when applied in concert with Amferia hydrogel, the effectiveness of antibiotics tested was elevated significantly. Drug synergism is defined as the combined effect of different drugs, where the resulting effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. Chalmers researchers discovered exactly that synergism when using the peptide material and antibiotics together against certain antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This had not been shown before.
The peptide material was evaluated in combination with two different antibiotics, oxacillin and vancomycin. The bacteria involved in the trials were two types of staphylococci (S. aureus), one of which is resistant to multiple antibiotics.
The most powerful effect in the study was measured against the multi-resistant S. aureus. When the Amferia hydrogel was combined with oxacillin, an antibiotic to which S. aureus had developed a resistance, the combination of hydrogel and oxacillin lowered the effective concentration of oxacillin 64-fold compared to when the antibiotic was used alone. At concentrations below the level where bacteria are classified as resistant, oxacillin regained its effectiveness against the bacteria.
Amferia Recognized on Ny Teknik’s “33-listan” for Second Consecutive Year
November 14, 2024
The significance of being on the list a second time highlights Amferia's continued growth and increasing market potential. It suggests that the company has not only managed to sustain its initial success but has also demonstrated the ability to expand and strengthen its position within the industry. Being recognized again reflects a track record of strong performance, innovation, or strategic decisions that make Amferia a promising company for future growth.
Being recognized a second-time by Ny Teknik’s 33-listan is a significant milestone for Amferia, underscoring our progress in bringing a critical, technology-driven healthcare innovation to market,” stated the Amferia team. “This achievement is also a testament to the collaboration and support from our clinical partners who have recognized the vital role our technology can play in addressing a global healthcare threat.”
Ny Teknik has been recognizing Sweden’s most innovative and promising tech companies through its “33-listan” since 2008.
Amferia wins Red Dot Award for Innovative Design addressing bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance
November 11, 2024
Amferia has been awarded the Red Dot Award for its elevator pitch logotype in the Brand & Communication Design category. The new logo describes the company’s innovation and purpose in three words: Amferia kills bacteria.
”The award highlights our commitment to addressing bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance. Amferia’s innovation contributes to the solution, but we also have to communicate that in an innovative way to reach a global audience.” says Anand Rajasekharan, CEO and co-founder of Amferia.
The Red Dot Award, established in 1955, honours outstanding achievements in product design, communication, and design concepts. The Brand & Communication Design category honors products and services demonstrating design excellence in areas such as communication, branding, advertising, and packaging.
"Our design philosophy effectively communicates our mission and, at the same time makes the public aware of a growing global problem. Bacterial infections are likely to surpass cancer and heart disease as the number one cause of human deaths in the future, largely due to increasing bacterial resistance to commonly used antibiotics”, says Anand Rajasekharan.
Amferia’s technology enables for the first time the safe and stable use of antimicrobial peptides, allowing them to kill bacteria—even resistant strains—without harming the surrounding body cells.
“We are essentially mimicking the body’s own immune system to fight infections in wounds to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics," says Anand Rajasekharan
To add a sense of urgency to the logo, we chose a red dot as a symbol. It’s widely recognised as a stop symbol signal and also reminds physicians and surgeons about round microscopic photos of dead bacteria. For them, the red colour indicates dead bacteria”, says Anders Eklind, Amferia’s art director.
Amferia kills bacteria – the technology Antimicrobial peptides are known for their ability to kill bacteria due to their positive electrostatic charge, which attracts the negatively charged bacteria. This allows peptides to puncture bacterial membranes and destroy the cells. However, their fragility in biological environments has been a major challenge to developing peptides as a viable treatment—naturally occurring enzymes in the human body can destroy them within seconds.
Amferia's patented hydrogel platform addresses this challenge for the first time by encasing the peptides in a solid protective gel. This design shields the vulnerable facets of peptides from natural enzymes while allowing their bacteria-killing structures to remain exposed and active. The hydrogel is then applied to wounds with topical dressings, meaning it is a medical device, which reduces the time for clinical studies.
Amferia design team – Red Dot:
Account managers: Anand Rajasekharan, Saba Atefyekta
Design: Anders Eklind, Björn Engström, Jonas Cederolm
The origins of the Red Dot Design Award date back to 1955. Its distinction, the Red Dot, is established internationally as one of the most sought-after quality marks for good design. From products, brand communication and creative projects to design concepts and prototypes, the Red Dot Award documents the most prominent trends worldwide. The award-winning designs are showcased in exhibitions around the globe and in the Red Dot Design Museums in Essen, Singapore and Xiamen as well as in yearbooks and online.
Amferia awarded the Chalmers impact award 2024
November 7, 2024
The Chalmers Impact Award this year goes to the company Amferia, founded by Professor Martin Andersson and his former doctoral students Saba Atefyekta and Anand Kumar Rajasehkaran. After discovering that Anand Kumar Rajasehkaran's research on synthetic bones could be combined with Saba Atefyekta's work on antibacterial peptides, the work began. Together with Martin Andersson's extensive experience in materials research, the team started developing methods to apply the antibacterial substances to various surfaces, such as plasters.
"The aim was to develop new materials that can prevent infections without using antibiotics, thereby reducing the risk of bacteria developing antibiotic resistance," says Martin Andersson.
Chalmers impact award is intended to encourage researchers to actively work with utilization of their research for societal impact and to make these efforts visible within both academia and society in general.
First Product Utilizing Amferia Antimicrobial Technology Launched in Europe for Animal Wound Care
November 3, 2024
The Snögg BactiDefend Dressing, a new product in animal wound care using Amferia’s proprietary antimicrobial technology, has been launched for professional veterinary use across several European countries.
The introduction of BactiDefend is the result of a partnership between Amferia and Orkla Wound Care, released under Orkla’s Snögg Animal Care brand. This collaboration aims to address the growing need for effective wound care and bacterial reduction in wounds of both small and large animals, especially in the light of increasing concerns over antibiotic-resistant infections.
Amferia has conducted extensive clinical testing throughout Europe, receiving positive feedback from veterinary clinics. “Veterinarians report reduced bacterial load and enhanced wound healing with this new product,” says Anand Rajasekharan, CEO of Amferia.
“I would like to emphasize that Orkla Wound Care's expertise supports Amferia’s goal of combating antibiotic-resistant infections in animals. The BactiDefend dressing represents a joint effort in combining advanced technology and commercial strategy aimed at meeting significant market needs in animal health”
Antimicrobial peptides are known for their ability to kill bacteria due to their positive electrostatic charge, which attracts the negatively charged bacteria. This allows peptides to puncture bacterial membranes and destroy the cells. However, their fragility in biological environments has been a major challenge to developing peptides as a viable treatment—naturally occurring enzymes in the human—or animal—body can destroy them within seconds.
Amferia's patented hydrogel platform addresses this challenge for the first time by encasing the peptides in a solid protective hydrogel. This design shields the vulnerable facets of peptides from natural enzymes while allowing their bacteria-killing structures to remain exposed and active. The hydrogel is then applied to wounds with topical dressings, meaning it can be used as a medical device, which reduces the need for time-consuming clinical trials.
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About Orkla Wound Care
Orkla Wound Care has a long tradition of developing, manufacturing and distributing market-leading products within wound care and first aid. Orkla Wound Care is a part of the Orkla group, a publicly listed company on the Norwegian Stock Exchange. Orkla Group is known for its active portfolio management targeting fast-growing consumer segments and markets.
About Snögg Animal Care
Snögg Animal Care has more than 40 years of experience in animal wound care. Developed in co-operation with veterinarians and animal wound care experts, their products are intended for animal use, with a focus on animal well-being. Learn more at https://snogg.com
Amferia closes €1,2 million investment to combat resistant bacterial infections
September 6, 2024
Amferia announces the successful completion of its latest investment round, boosting its mission to combat wound infections. During 2024, Amferia has signed important commercial agreements with leading animal health companies in Europe for commercialization of the company’s proprietary technology — a wound dressing for animals that also kills resistant bacteria.
The round was over prescribed and spearheaded by existing owners and 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 entered the animal health segment and signed commercial agreements with leading animal health companies in Europe such as Orkla Wound Care AB and Biokema SA, 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 unnecessary use for antibiotics," says Anand Rajasekharan, CEO and co-founder of Amferia. “Antibiotics are absolutely 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 soon, 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.
Amferia signs major animal health contract with Biokema and expands into Switzerland
August 26, 2024
Swedish medtech company Amferia, with a mission to combat infections globally, announces the signing of its second commercial agreement. The contract is with the leading Swiss animal health company Biokema SA for commercialization of Amferia’s proprietary wound care technology for Animal Health in Switzerland — a wound dressing for animals that kills bacteria even resistant bacteria.
Anand Rajasekharan, CEO of Amferia — “Biokema’s market leadership in animal health will spearhead Amferia’s vision of reducing antibiotic resistant wound infections in animal health in Switzerland. We are inspired by this partnership, which will bring our innovation together with a leading distributor to a market where there is considerable need for improved and cost effective solutions. Amferia’s innovation has already received strong interest and positive feedback from veterinarians from across Europe, who immediately notice the potential of our new proprietary antimicrobial material within wound and infection management.”
The joint partnership with Biokema will enable Amferia’s technology to reach veterinary patients in Switzerland where wound care and infection prevention is of prime importance. With the growing threat of antibiotic resistant infections globally, Amferia and Biokema’s partnership will build on extensive data collection and feedback from Amferia’s clinical testing across Europe, including Switzerland. The joint efforts aim to market the products starting early 2025.
Dr. Julia Golaz, Commercial Director of Biokema — “ Rapidly providing innovative therapeutic solutions to veterinarians is a priority challenge for Biokema. The partnership with Amferia will allow us to offer to Swiss veterinarians a new technology to reduce antibiotic-resistant wound infections and antibiotic use.
Biokema thus continues to be part of the strategy on antibiotic resistance, essential to sustainably preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics and once again demonstrates its commitment to veterinarians for better care of animals. We are delighted with this partnership with Amferia, based on a shared vision and motivation.”
For more information, please contact: Anand Kumar Rajasekharan, CEO, Amferia AB, anandk@amferia.com, +46 (0) 76 298 12 38.
Dr. Julia Golaz, Commercial Director, Biokema SA, jgolaz@biokema.ch, + 41 (0) 79 815 86 47
About Biokema
Biokema SA, founded in 1959, is a Swiss company specializing in the supply of pharmaceuticals and veterinary products. Entirely owned by Swiss shareholders, Biokema SA focuses on delivering its own brands while also partnering with international leaders in animal nutrition and veterinary medical devices. With a constantly evolving product portfolio, recognized technical expertise, and customer relationships built on a strong history and trust, Biokema SA has established itself as an essential partner in veterinary medicine.
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