Efferon, a startup selected for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026's Startup Battlefield 200, aims to cut the number of children who die from sepsis. The condition, an acute inflammatory response to infection, kills about 3 million children under five each year. Standard antibiotics often cannot stop the immune system from overreacting, so blood must be filtered to remove dangerous substances.
The company's pediatric device, Efferon NEO, is designed to do that filtering. According to co-founder and CEO Dima Romashin, it absorbs both endotoxins and cytokines at the same time, something other devices on the market do not do. Because children have much lower blood volume than adults, the device was built specifically for their physiology. In April, it received a CE mark, making it the first multimodal blood purification device for pediatric sepsis to be cleared in Europe.
Efferon NEO is already used in intensive care units in 30 countries, including hospitals in Europe, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand. The company is now preparing to seek FDA approval and says it is on track to reach $2 million in annualized revenue by the end of 2026. Romashin concedes that growth is slower than many AI startups, but says the real measure of success is children going home from the hospital.