Located first in Mirandola and then in San Giovanni in Persiceto, it is a technological point of reference in the world of transplants This is where revolution starts with therapies destined for multiple clinical scopes: intensive care, nephrology, cardiac surgery, transfusions, gastroenterology down to the innovative fields of perfusion and purification of organs destined for transplants. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo Colletti interviews Mauro Atti, CEO of Aferetica
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
There is an invisible thread that connects Mirandola to the whole world made up of science and humanity, innovation and care, research and collaboration. Of vision. This is also the thread of Aferetica, which was set up in the heart of the Emilian biomedical district where thirty years of industrial skills intertwines with a simple yet radical idea: to give life more chances. Everything started after the earthquake, in a container i.e. in a place of physical and symbolic reconstruction where the word resilience stops being an abstract concept and becomes everyday practice. Something very common in Emilian entrepreneurship. From there, Aferetica took form, grew and became a point of world reference for extra-body purification technologies and those dedicated to organ transplants. It now boasts thirty employees, relations with over 100 professionals, and an international network that spans Europe and Brazil where it is certified by Anvisa, one of the strictest authorities on a global level. But figures are just part of the story because people come before patents. “Everyone is responsible for everything,” they love saying at Aferetica. It is not a slogan, but rather a way of living the company. It means that no boxes for ideas are needed, because ideas are shared and built together, without a hierarchy. It means that all technical and clinical intuitions are born from a community that shares a common goal. This is how what Aferetica refers to as collaborative research is born, representing the true DNA of the company. Ideas are not found in closed laboratories but in the departments by talking to clinicians, listening to those who deal with the complexities of care day after day. Starting from there, they go on to involve chemists, biologists, engineers, electronic and mechanical experts as well as marketing and regulatory professionals. No one fends for themselves and shared knowledge becomes the first matter of innovation.
Company profile.The adventure started with three colleagues who were above all friends, all working in the biomedical sector. “We decided to become entrepreneurs after living our whole lives as managers. The intuition? It was born from experience in the field, on the market. By collecting ideas and stimuli from a constant dialogue with clinicians which resulted in new products and therapies. And again, by applying technologies to new fields such as organ perfusion and transplants. And, concerning transplants - up until ten years ago, organs were placed in ice and taken to the transplant centre, while now they can be treated beforehand. Such a process, as stated by professor Giuseppe Remuzzi, would change the world of transplants. And it certainly did. Organ perfusion is now becoming the norm,” explains Mauro Atti, CEO of Aferetica. This entrepreneur who was born in 1953 and graduated from the University of Bologna started out in the dialysis sector and became a starter-upper at 60, driven by his wish to always give something more. The company headquarters is located in San Giovanni in Persiceto, near Bologna. The first offices were in a post-earthquake container in Mirandola, where production is still located today. The revolution of global transplants starts in Emilia thanks to Aferetica, one of the leading technological players. This SME deals with therapeutic apheresis that gives more possibilities and a better quality of life. Therapies are destined for multiple clinical scopes: intensive care, nephrology, cardiac surgery, transfusions, and gastroenterology, down to the innovative field of transplants for organ purification. Aferetica ended 2024 with a turnover exceeding €10 million and a 30% growth on the previous year, entering the ranking carried out by Il Sole 24 Ore in collaboration with Statista on the companies with the highest growth rate in Italy. But what matters is something else. In the world of transplants, where life often depends on a minuscule time window, Aferetica has chosen to work not on preservation but on organ viability. Technologies have enabled small centres to double their transplants. Behind every number, there is a patient that starts breathing again, a doctor who finds an ally, a company that chooses to support life. The Purification Technologies event has become an international point of reference: hundreds take part, with many speakers and discussions without filters. A place where the keyword is actually fare insieme (i.e. doing together).
Future challenges. Now Aferetica is looking ahead. Towards new European branches, towards a future where 80% of production will be exported, but also to new frontiers of therapy such as xenotransplantation, a field where organ perfusion can make a difference. The objective is an ambitious one: to cancel or at least drastically reduce transplant waiting lists, as currently only one patient in ten globally manages to access a compatible organ. But, beyond goals, the initial vision remains, i.e. the idea that, in order to be truly useful, technology must combine science and the human value of caring. “When a patient enters a hospital, the first objective must be to cure them regardless of who they are or where they come from. That must be our starting point.”
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