Not long ago, decoding DNA was the holy grail of biology. Today, a growing number of scientists and clinicians believe that the key to the next generation of healthcare lies in understanding how our genes are controlled – epigenetics.
Epigenica, a Swedish biotech company founded by Dr. Mohamad Takwa and Prof. Simon Elsässer, is turning that belief into reality. The company is democratizing access to high-resolution, scalable epigenetic screening through innovative tools that bridge research and clinical utility.
“At its core, epigenetics is about gene control, not gene sequence,” explains Dr. Takwa. “Your DNA may not change, but how its read changes everyday. That dynamic layer governs everything from cancer to aging to mental health and requires comprehensive analysis to understand.”
From Concept to Company: A Problem Worth Solving
Epigenica was started when a big pharmaceutical company approached Prof. Elsässer at Karolinska Institutet with a challenge: find a scalable, cost-effective method for epigenetic screening. Nothing on the market fit the bill – so a new method had to be developed. That solution became EpiFinder, the company’s flagship technology platform.
EpiFinder enables researchers to perform genome-wide epigenetic profiling across hundreds of samples in parallel-tracking both DNA methylation and histone modifications in a single workflow. It’s the first multiplexed platform of its kind, and it plugs directly into existing next-generation sequencing (NGS) pipelines.
By drastically reducing time, cost, and sample input, EpiFinder is removing the historic barriers that have kept epigenomics on the fringes of translational science.
Making Epigenetics Actionable
Epigenica’s tools are designed to serve both discovery and applied science. Academic labs, biobanks, and pharmaceutical researchers are already using EpiFinder to uncover markers related to cancer, neurodegenerative conditions, inflammation, and healthy aging.
“We wanted to build something that didn’t just work in theory,” says Prof. Elsässer. “It had to work in the real world – across studies, in any lab, and on all patient populations. And it does.”
The company’s model includes both research kits and high-quality epigenetic analysis services, allowing partners to quickly generate large amounts of data without needing to invest in complex infrastructure.
Innovation Meets Impact
What sets Epigenica apart isn’t just its technology – it’s the mission behind it. The team is committed to making epigenetic data more available, more useful, and more impactful. Their ambition is bold: bring the precision of epigenetics to everyday medicine.
“Our tools give scientists and clinicians a deeper lens into gene regulation,” says Takwa. “That insight can guide everything from early disease detection to patient stratification. But it needs to be accessible, and that’s what we’re changing.”
Since the launch of its first product line in 2024, Epigenica has already partnered with major research centers across Europe and North America. Their technology is currently used in studies led by teams at Oxford, Yale, and Max Planck Institute, among others.
With a growing IP portfolio, global demand, and a platform built for scale, Epigenica is well-positioned to lead the epigenetics wave and bring better biology to the heart of modern medicine.
