From an Icelandic fish factory to a billion-dollar exit

This interview was first published in September 2024. Fertram Sigurjonsson’s current roles are described in an editor’s note at the end of the article.

Fertram Sigurjonsson grew up in the fishing village of Isafjordur in northwest Iceland, just south of the Arctic Circle. He says the idea behind Kerecis came from connecting those early years with the expertise he later gained in the medtech industry.

“As a boy, I worked in a fish factory and on a fishing boat during summer vacations. After finishing my studies I worked in the medtech industry, including prosthetics and amputation prevention. In 2007, I had the opportunity to set up as a consultant and it was between 2007 and 2010 that I realized that human skin and fish skin share similarities. This led to the innovative idea of using fish skin for medical applications,” he says.

His first job in medtech was at the prosthetics company Össur. He had assumed that most limb loss was caused by accidents, but quickly learned that amputations were mostly needed because of chronic wounds related to diabetes and other diseases. “This insight turned into a strong interest in wound care and amputation prevention that still drives me today,” he says.

This insight turned into a strong interest in wound care and amputation prevention that still drives me today.

After working at several medtech companies, he founded his own business, first as a consulting firm. In 2010 his focus shifted to the fish-skin technology.

Why cold-water fish

Kerecis uses the skin of North Atlantic cod caught in the freezing waters around Iceland. Viruses in the skin and tissues of animals from warmer climates can be transferred to humans, so those tissues need heavy processing before they can be used in medicine. According to Sigurjonsson, viruses in cold-water fish become inactive at room temperature, which allows Kerecis to process the fish skin gently.

This preserves the natural structure and composition of the skin, which Sigurjonsson says is why the product performs better in medical applications than highly processed tissues from other animals.

“I like to believe that we have prevented amputations on hundreds of people because fish skin closes wounds faster than any other products,” he says.

How fish skin helps wounds heal

Human skin is mainly made up of fats, proteins, glycans, elastins and a small number of cells, and fish skin has a similar composition. The key step in Kerecis’ patented process is to gently clean the skin and remove all the fish cells without damaging it, leaving tiny holes where the cells once were. The scales are removed and the product is sterilized before it is supplied to doctors.

Healthy cells from the edge of the wound migrate into the fish skin to fill the holes left by the removed fish cells.

When treating a large wound, the doctor first cleans it and removes all dead tissue, then places the fish skin into the wound and covers it with a dressing. Healthy cells from the edge of the wound migrate into the fish skin to fill the holes left by the removed fish cells. Over time, the fish skin breaks down and is replaced by human tissue, ultimately becoming part of the patient’s own skin.

Taking Kerecis to the US

The fish-skin technology received FDA clearance in 2013, and in 2016 Kerecis began selling in the US, where thousands of patients have since been treated. Sigurjonsson says the US was chosen as the primary market because of its severe diabetes epidemic at the time, which had led to high rates of amputations and chronic wounds.

This strategic decision to focus on the US market was crucial to our success.

“Transitioning Kerecis from a research and development (R&D) company in Iceland, a small market with only 300,000 people, to a sales and marketing company focused on the US was challenging. It required stepping out of our comfort zone, shifting from R&D to engaging directly with doctors, buyers, and procurement departments, and hiring salespeople with a different mindset. However, this strategic decision to focus on the US market was crucial to our success,” he says.

The company’s revenue grew from USD 400,000 in its first year to more than USD 100 million in 2023, when the Financial Times named it one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies. That same year, Kerecis was sold to Danish medtech company Coloplast for up to USD 1.3 billion, making it one of Iceland’s first unicorns.

“A success like this can only happen thanks to the contribution of many people. During the initial years of Kerecis I was very fortunate to be able to build a strong team that included many talented people who I had worked with over the years in prior jobs,” he says.

Recognition

Kerecis received the President of Iceland Export Award in 2024 for its results in international markets, and won the Nordic ScaleUp Award in 2023.

“Startups face a difficult shift when transitioning from R&D to sales and marketing and this award highlights companies that are successful in making this leap, emphasizing the importance of bringing innovative products to the market,” says Sigurjonsson.

This was a realization that things were going well.

In 2024 he was also a finalist for the European Inventor Award. “It was a great feeling and meant a lot after years of hard work. It felt like a huge compliment. When you’re deeply involved in something, working hard, you don’t always notice the progress. This was a realization that things were going well,” he says.

From Isafjordur to global standard

“Now, as part of Coloplast, a company with 20,000 employees operating in 140 countries, we can think bigger,” says Sigurjonsson.

“My dream, and the mission of Kerecis, is to see the fish skin from Isafjordur available in all the 140 markets that Coloplast serves and becoming the global standard of care for severe life-threatening wounds.”

Editor’s note, October 2026: Since this interview was first published in September 2024, Fertram Sigurjonsson has stepped back from running the business he founded. After leading Kerecis and then Coloplast’s Wound & Tissue Repair unit as Executive Vice President, in August 2026 he moved into a strategic role as Chief Innovation & Technology Advisor to Coloplast’s CEO, focusing on the company’s innovation agenda in biologics, advanced wound care and emerging technologies. In October 2026 he launched Arctell, a High North innovation and investment platform aimed at building globally competitive companies rooted in Arctic science and entrepreneurship. Arctell is closely affiliated with the family investment office of Sigurjonsson and his wife, Fanney Hermannsdottir. He also serves as Senior Emissary for Investment & Business at Arctic Circle.

About the author

Paula Pérez González-Anguiano, M.Sc. in Scientific, Medical and Environmental Communication, is a Biotechnologist, Science Journalist and Illustrator based in Barcelona, Spain.