Swedish Biotech Omnio Raises $3.2M to Target Hard-to-Heal Wounds

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Omnio, a Swedish biotech, has raised $3.2 million to advance its plasminogen-based therapy for hard-to-heal chronic wounds toward clinical studies. The funding follows a $4.7 million round earlier this year.

Omnio, a Umeå-based biotech startup, has secured an oversubscribed $3.2 million round from existing investors and shareholders. The funding will push its plasminogen-based therapy for hard-to-heal chronic wounds closer to clinical studies. This comes on the heels of a $4.7 million financing completed in spring 2025, which helped finalize its GMP manufacturing process. According to the company, development has stayed on track since then. “This financing demonstrates our continuous progress and strong confidence from our current investors,” said Felipe Velasquez, CEO of Omnio. “Their support allows us to continue the development and puts us in a stronger position ahead of our next financing round for clinical studies.” ### What Exactly Is Omnio Working On? Founded on research by Professor Tor Ny at Umeå University—who also heads R&D at Omnio—the company is developing plasminogen-based therapies for chronic wounds and related conditions. Their lead candidate is a recombinant form of plasminogen, a natural protein that helps the body clear damaged tissue, fight infection, and regenerate skin. In people with chronic wounds, that healing process stalls. Omnio aims to restart it. The primary focus is diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), a condition with limited effective treatment options. More than half a billion people worldwide live with diabetes, and up to one-third will develop a foot ulcer during their lifetime. These wounds can become chronic and devastating, severely impacting mobility, quality of life, and productivity, while putting patients at risk of amputation. For healthcare systems, the burden is equally significant, with advanced-stage diabetic foot ulcers costing an estimated $54,000 per wound episode. ### The Road Ahead: Trials and Beyond Omnio has already established its master cell bank and is now scaling up manufacturing for a GMP batch that will be used in toxicology studies—a necessary step before clinical trials. The clinical program will kick off with a Phase I/IIa safety and early-efficacy study in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. “Our ambition is to move into patient studies during 2027,” added Velasquez. “We are already evaluating CROs, investigators, and trial countries across Europe to support the launch of the clinical program.” While DFU remains the primary focus, Omnio sees potential for its plasminogen platform across a broader range of chronic wound conditions, including venous leg ulcers, burns, tympanic membrane perforations, infection, and periodontitis. ### Why This Matters for the Wound Care Market The wound healing market is mostly a medical devices market, but nothing has really moved the needle in hard-to-heal wounds. As Velasquez puts it: “We are not developing another medical device. We are developing a biologic therapy that addresses the biology of wound healing and the root cause of why these wounds stay open.” Omnio plans to open its next financing round in Q1 2027 to fund clinical development through first efficacy data. “We are structuring the next financing round around key development milestones as we prepare to enter clinical studies,” said Velasquez. For those tracking European biotech, Omnio’s progress is one to watch. It’s not just about the money—it’s about a potential paradigm shift in how we treat chronic wounds.

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