In December 2013, Spiber Technologies was selected for funding from the Strategic Indo-Swedish Cooperative Innovation Programme, jointly administered by The Department of Biotechnology, Government of India (DBT); the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA); and the Swedish Research Council (SRC). The project, to be carried out in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, is entitled ”Silk2Heal – Developing an Antimicrobial Wound Patch with Wound-healing Ability for Diabetic Foot Ulcers”, and it receives SEK 5 m. for the period 2014 – 2017.
The project deals with chronic wounds, a health problem that influences millions of people. Wound infection is one of the causes for why it takes such a long time for a wound to heal. Spiber Technology has together with a collaborator at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati come up with a concept to increase healing and reduce bacterial load in the wounds. 
The project leaders have been Ekaterina Medvedeva, Marketing Director, M.Sc. in Molecular Biotechnology Engineering at Spiber; and Assistant Professor Biman Mandal at the Department of Biotechnology, IIT Guwahati. The other partners in the project include Prof. Hedhammar; PhD candidate Naresh Tatikonda; and Linnea Nilebäck. More information about the project. A Call for the programme was announced in the spring 2013, and decisions were taken in December 2013. Altogether five Indo-Swedish projects in the field of Health and Disease prevention were selected to receive funding. Full information about the selection.
The goal of the programme is to support long-term Indo-Swedish research and innovation collaboration in the field of Health. Indian and Swedish industry and researchers in both private and public sectors were invited to submit joint project applications for collaborative research and innovation projects. The approach is to establish and strengthen collaborative industry and research networks between India and Sweden by funding joint research and innovation projects, exchange visits, demonstration and proof of principle. 

Project abstract: Diabetes is a metabolic disease that affects 371 million people worldwide. Foot ulcer is one of the most severe complications, affecting up to 25% of all diabetic patients during their life time. A majority of the ulcers are infected. An untreated or improperly treated infection may result in amputation and even patient death. The most common treatment today is systemic administration of antibiotics. Due to the emergence of widespread antibiotic resistance, search for new bactericidal agents is highly demanded, especially for local treatments of infections such as in diabetic foot ulcer.