The first business Malmö University's holding company invested in, the life science company Pharmista Technologies AB, has receives four million Danish kroner to be able to produce a prototype of a pregnancy test that will be able to be used multiple times.

Pharmista Technologies has already been included as one of the enterprises in the SmiLes, a Lund-based non-profit incubator for start-up companies in life science. Now Pharmista has also been accepted into the BioInnovation Institute's (BII) Venture Lab programme in Copenhagen.

The one-year programme supports early-stage companies in business development, scientific advancement, and team development. Membership also includes a convertible bond of four million Danish kroner.

“This means that we finally have a significant amount of money with which we can accelerate the development of the technology and the product. In addition to the funding, we will also have access to BII's mentoring programme that extends over twelve months, their facilities in central Copenhagen and their network within the industry. So we are very excited about what this year has to offer,” says Pharmista CEO Alice Mattsson, who founded the company when she studied the master's program Leadership for Sustainability at Malmö University.

The goal by the end of the programme is to have a prototype for a pregnancy test that can be reused at least ten times, with high accuracy.

“Based on the technological progress we expect to make during the year, the plan is to then raise additional funding to take the product all the way to market. We will also look at which product we want to develop next and how we can best use the potential of our patented platform technology,” says Mattsson.

Mau Holding is the University's holding company that invests in companies that conduct research and development for the commercialisation of projects and knowledge, developed or created within the framework of the activities at Malmö University. In 2021, Mau Holding invested 300,000 SEK in Pharmista Technologies. In return, the holding company received an ownership stake and representation on the company's board.

Charlotte Ahlgren Moritz, pro-vice-chancellor, and chair of the board of Mau Holding said:
“Alice is a very driven entrepreneur and is passionate about her idea, which both supports women and has a sustainability perspective, which, as a holding company, we assessed as a very good combination and something we wanted to invest in. BII's incubator programme will be important for Pharmista's continued journey, both in terms of new networks and the quality seal that the company receives through admission to this prestigious programme.

“Malmö University has unique knowledge assets in its interdisciplinary research and its strong social commitment. Our vision to contribute to an equal and sustainable society can be achieved, among other things, by investing in being an innovative university that puts our knowledge assets to good societal use,” says Ahlgren Moritz.

Text: Magnus Jando

Text: Communications Department