Akira Science: A medical technology company revolutionizing soft tissue engineering

Each year, nearly 270,000 women in the US will receive a breast cancer diagnosis in the US, and approximately 170,000 of these patients will undergo a lumpectomy. As the name suggests, the procedure removes the lump, or tumor, along with a thin margin of surrounding breast tissue. It is the most common surgical treatment for early-stage breast cancer, and for many women it is lifesaving. 

As you can imagine, a cancer diagnosis is distressing enough, and many women then face permanent changes to their bodies. Lumpectomies can leave dents, asymmetries, and other deformities in their bodies, along with emotional consequences that can last long after treatment ends. Repairing them usually means a second round of surgery, which is costly, and for most, not something they can access.

Akira Science wants to change that. The med tech company specializes in soft-tissue engineering and 3D printing, and it is developing novel materials that help the body repair itself. Its work could span many areas of medicine, but its most compelling application is breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery.  

Akira has created cutting-edge scaffolds that guide the body as it heals and then biodegrades, dissolving over 12 months and leaving the patient’s own tissue behind. For the hundreds of thousands of women facing gaps or changes in their breasts after surgery, this technology could make a really meaningful difference, both physically and emotionally. 

Akira's mission 

Akira Science is an impressive medical technology start-up based in Stockholm. They’re engineering novel biomaterials to be used in soft tissue repair, an area that (according to their website) has relied on the same tools for over 70 years.  

The company began as a spin-off from the Fibre and Polymer Technology Department at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden’s largest academic institution dedicated to native and synthetic polymers. They are led by CEO, Álvaro Morales López, PhD, whose own fascination with 3D printing and polymers motivates him to change the way that biodegradable implants are designed.  

Biomaterials, as we know them, have been around since the 1940s. They are designed to perform a temporary function in the body before naturally breaking down or dissolving, eliminating the need for a second surgery to remove them.  

However, according to Akira, soft tissues lack appropriate options. Most of the biodegradable materials available today were developed for other purposes, such as bone repair and sutures, and later adapted for soft tissue use.  

Bone is rigid and load bearing, so materials made for it tend to be stiff. Sutures are thin strands meant to hold tissue together, not to support or fill a volume of tissue. As neither has been built with soft tissue in mind, they don’t work particularly well. Akira’s mission, therefore, is to fill this gap and create a material that is specifically designed for soft tissues from the get-go.  

Their lead product: AkiMed™  

Akira’s answer to this problem is AkiMed™.  

Designed specifically for soft tissue, AkiMed is non-toxic, degradable, biocompatible, pliable and can be 3D printed – which massively sets it aside from the current standard of treatment. Instead of losing support early or staying in the body for too long, AkiMed has a 6-24 month programmed resorption rate, and offers different repair timelines depending on its function.  

The AkiMed ™ Breast Scaffold 

After a lumpectomy, women are typically left with two options: live with the resulting deformity or undergo another major surgery. Reconstruction often means harvesting tissue from the back or abdomen, which adds a new surgical site and a longer recovery. 

The AkiMed Breast Scaffold would offer a third option. According to Akira’s CEO, the surgeon simply opens and places the implant after the tumor is removed, so no separate reconstructive procedure is needed.  

The scaffold protects the cavity and provides the breast tissue with a framework to heal around rather than collapse into. And once its job is done, the scaffold degrades and is absorbed by the body. 

AkiMed has been engineered into three physical formats so it can serve other clinical areas, including chronic wound care (ulcers and non-healing wounds), drug delivery, biotech, animal health and aesthetic medicine. 

Potential impact 

Akira’s technology would be transformative for patients, changing what recovery looks like for women undergoing breast cancer tumor removal. It’s reassuring to see the company addressing a part of cancer recovery that has long been overlooked.  

The clinical and practical benefits of AkiMed are significant, removing the need for secondary surgeries and reducing both clinical risk and cost.  

Most importantly, Akira are helping many more women feel like themselves after the daunting experience of tumor removal. When facing so much uncertainty, there is real comfort in knowing that your appearance won’t be drastically changed. 

While their tech has yet to be cleared for clinical use, Akira has reported positive pre-clinical results and interest from breast surgeons. We’ll be keeping an eye on their progress and look forward to the company’s next steps! 

If you work in the med tech industry and are looking to expand an important team or find a new role, feel free to contact us. We’ll connect you with the right experts, who will be able to get the process started for you.