Stabilizing acetylsalicylic acid in liquid form has long been considered impossible. After nearly ten years of research and thousands of attempts, Auxesis Pharma succeeded. Behind the journey is founder Roar Adelsten, who has invested everything in taking the innovation all the way from the lab to the market.
From mountain rescue to pharmaceutical research
Roar is originally from Oslo. Early on, he trained as an ambulance medic with the Norwegian Red Cross and worked in mountain rescue for two years. He then went on to a long career in the pharmaceutical industry, including at Pfizer, where he gained experience across both research and commercialization. It was during that period that the idea for Auxesis Pharma took shape.
“I met an American who said he had managed to stabilize acetylsalicylic acid in liquid form — but it wasn’t true; it was a different substance. That’s when I got the idea to try to do it myself,” he says.
In 2014, Roar began working on the first prototypes. Two years later, he assembled a research team from Karolinska Institutet. What followed was nearly a decade of lab trials, financing challenges, and countless setbacks.
“Many had tried to stabilize acetylsalicylic acid, but no one had succeeded. We tested again and again, and every time we thought we were close, it failed because of something small but decisive. Of course it was tough. You work for months or years to see if an idea holds up — and then it doesn’t. But I never give up. When I set a goal, I reach it.”
To keep the project alive, Roar did not take a salary for seven years. All resources went into building the team and pushing the research forward.
A long-awaited breakthrough
Just over a year ago came the breakthrough they had been waiting for. The formulation meets the stability requirements set by the Swedish Medical Products Agency, and the first patent was filed at EU level in 2023.
Today, Auxesis Pharma has grown into an organization of 14–15 people and two subsidiaries focused on technology and animal care. A production unit is now being established in Östersund, and collaborations are underway with specialized companies in Lund to bring the first products all the way to market. The next step is to finalize manufacturing and prepare for launch — first for the treatment of skin pain in humans and thereafter for veterinary medicine — with the goal of a listing to give the company additional growth capacity.
“A listing isn’t a goal in itself — it’s a way for us to scale faster and make our solutions available to more people,” says Roar.
Making a real difference
For Roar, Auxesis is not only about research and business. He wants what he does to matter — for people, for animals, and for society. Skin pain and irritation are common problems, yet effective options are often lacking. In veterinary medicine, the need is even greater: painkilling treatment is costly, and antibiotics are used far too extensively.
“And anyone with pets knows how expensive it is to go to the veterinarian. We want to be able to say that a preparation helps against the pain immediately — one hundred percent.”
His commitment is also visible outside the laboratory. When Östersunds FK was on the brink of collapse, it was Roar who stepped in and ensured the club survived. For him, entrepreneurship and social responsibility go hand in hand — whether it is building a pharmaceutical company or supporting community life.
“When we started, we had no money — just a core idea. I continued on my own for quite a while, connecting people and building the team. Of course there have been many tough days and years, but when you finally reach the goal, it’s worth everything.”