Nordic Life Science 1
Stefan Roos, Associate Professor in Microbiology
at the workings of the human body, Evelina Vågesjö, born and raised in Småland, Sweden, began researching a way to help the body heal hard-to-heal wounds as a project for her doctoral thesis studies at Uppsala University. She had decided to major in Physiology because of her interest in the mechanics of the human body, and was able to study other fields as well. “I got the chance to study Immunology and I was able to study in real time how bodily functions work,” she says. “I was able to observe how immune cells regulate blood flow in wounded tissue.” She developed, and continues to refine, genetically modified lactic acid bacteria that act as “mini-bioreactors” at the treatment site to produce chemokines, human therapeutic proteins, directly to the injured site – nudging the local immune cells to reduce inflammation or assist with and accelerate the healing and regenerative processes. This provides a new and cost effective way to deliver biological drugs. Her findings led to the foundation of a company, Ilya Pharma, in 2016, co-founded with Mia Phillipson, Professor in Physiology at Uppsala University, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “We had the scientific findings of chemokines and immune cells in injured and ischemic tissue at Uppsala University with gene therapy based approaches. Then we developed the technology platform where lactic acid bacteria express the chemokines (ILP-drug candidates) and when we tested them and they worked better than expected in animal models, we founded Ilya Pharma and transferred all data and intellectual property developed to the company.” “I was able to transfer my work seamlessly from the university to my own company. The Swedish government is very supportive of businesses coming out of universities,” she adds. The company’s treatments target the function of tissue-resident immune cells, and the mechanism of accelerated healing in skin wounds was published in PNAS in 2018. During the foundation of Ilya, Evelina says that business-wise she learned a lot from Ingemar Kihlström, the current Chairman of the Board. “He has helped me to consider what is best for the company during each stage of growth. I am very grateful that he has had, and continues to have, time for me and Ilya Pharma.” Her former professor, co-founder and business partner, Mia Phillipson, has meant everything for the scientific parts of the company, she adds. “I thought that she had a fantastic approach to science ten years ago and it is just getting better and better. She is very brave and continues to amaze me and others.”