Sepsis, a severe inflammatory response caused by infection, is a major contributor to child mortality, accounting for approximately 3 million deaths worldwide each year among children under five.
Efferon, a startup recognized among the Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, aims to significantly reduce this alarming statistic.
The company has created a medical device designed to reduce organ failure rates and accelerate recovery times in pediatric patients.
In cases where standard treatments, such as antibiotics, fail to regulate the immune system’s excessive reaction, it becomes necessary to filter the patient’s blood to eliminate harmful toxins. Efferon’s devices are specifically designed to remove both cytokines and toxins, providing essential support during critical illness.
Dima Romashin, co-founder and CEO of Efferon, likens the physiological response in sepsis to a fire, where the immune reaction quickly spirals out of control. “In a fire, you’re dealing with both the flames and the smoke,” he explained.
In the context of sepsis, endotoxins represent the flames while cytokines are akin to the smoke. Unlike other available devices, Efferon has innovated a system capable of absorbing both simultaneously, as explained by Romashin.
While Efferon produces absorbers for adults, its pediatric device, Efferon NEO, is specifically tailored for young children and has shown particularly positive results. Given that children have a notably lower blood volume, their medical devices must be designed with their specific physiology in mind, according to Romashin.
In April, Efferon NEO received a CE mark, which is comparable to FDA approval, making it the first multimodal blood purification device specifically made for treating pediatric sepsis.
Efferon NEO is now utilized in intensive care units across 30 countries, including hospitals in Europe, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand. The company is also gearing up to apply for FDA approval and anticipates reaching $2 million in annual revenue by the end of 2026.
The technology behind Efferon originated from researchers at Moscow State University, including co-founder Ivan Bessonov. Recognizing its commercial potential, Romashin, a seasoned entrepreneur, took on the role of CEO earlier this year to spearhead its market introduction.
Although Romashin acknowledges that Efferon’s growth is not as rapid as that of many contemporary AI startups, he believes that the true measure of the company’s success lies in the number of children that return home healthy.
