Amferia Marketing Director Saba Atefyekta was awarded the King Carl XVI Gustaf's New Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Årets Nybyggare) at Sweden’s Royal Palace. The award is Sweden’s most prestigious recognition of a talented, foreign-born entrepreneur. Atefyekta received this honour for her contribution to the growth of Amferia, a company developing next-generation antibacterial technology that help reduce the use of antibiotics.

Atefyekta is a co-founder of Amferia, a medical device company that has developed a breakthrough technology using anti-microbial peptides to combat the rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and speed the healing of wounds.

Born in Iran, Atefyekta migrated to Gothenburg with her husband 15 years ago.

“I left the country to follow my dreams,” Atefyekta said. “It was difficult there, and I have always had a dream of furthering my education.”

Following inspiration

She arrived in Sweden with a degree in chemistry, an interest that took off during high school due to an inspiring teacher.

At Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, her work caught the eye of another inspirational figure, Atefyekta’s doctoral supervisor, Martin Andersson, a professor of materials science. Andersson encouraged her to pursue entrepreneurship after her studies.

With fellow researcher Anand Kumar Rajasekharan, Atefyekta and Andersson founded Amferia in 2018 with the goal of developing medical products to combat antibiotic resistance. The company is exploring the use of their patented technology in a number of medical and veterinary applications.

Read full press release here

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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,

CEO, Amferia, +46 76 298 12 38

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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.

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.  

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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.

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‍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.

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.

Read the full press release here

Read the full scientific article here

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.

Read the full coverage from Ny Teknik

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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

Read more about the award here

About Red Dot Design Award

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.

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.

Read the full interview here

About the Chalmers Impact Award

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.

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”

Read more about BactiDefend.

Amferia technology—inspired by the immune system

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 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.