Swaza is one of the innovators selected for Phase 2 of the NATO DIANA programme. Within DIANA, the Swaza team is working to improve human resilience through advanced therapeutics and regenerative biomaterials. In our latest Phase 2 spotlight, Niki V. Santo, CEO at Swaza, shares more about the company's journey so far:
What does Swaza do and what is the solution you applied to DIANA with?
"Swaza is transforming respiratory care with the world’s first nanofluid breathing aid capable of raising blood oxygen levels without the need for O2 tanks or ventilators. Our disruptive, low-cost solution provides a safe, non-invasive alternative to mechanical ventilation, redefining the standard of care for a critical unmet need. Our lead asset, SWAZA-1, is a non-invasive, portable breathing aid designed for fast support in hospitals, field care, aeromedical transport, and disaster response. Built from FDA-established materials and stable at room temperature, SWAZA-1 can be deployed quickly without complex equipment. In addition to respiratory care, we’ve engineered products on our platform for burn, wound, and trauma care, harnessing oxygen's power to promote tissue regeneration."
What problem does your solution solve?
"Respiratory distress is a leading cause of death, and the current “last-line” options (ventilation/ECMO) are invasive, costly, and not always available in time. SWAZA-1 fills the early-intervention gap. Our nanofluid helps oxygen move across fluid and fibrotic barriers at the lung surface – bridging patients and warfighters to safety when every breath matters. The result is a shelf-stable, fast-acting option that can be used before escalation to invasive care, including in austere or resource-limited settings."
How did Swaza get started?
"Swaza began when scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs from Stanford, MIT, and Harvard asked a simple question during the pandemic: Can we solve the problem of oxygen without oxygen tanks or ventilators, safely, and anywhere? Years of biomaterials and drug-delivery research became a platform for oxygen therapeutics and regeneration. We spun that science out with a mission to restore function and save lives—from emergency rooms and ICUs to battlefields, rural clinics, and space medicine."
Was your company already positioned as a dual-use company before DIANA? Why did you apply?
"We designed our approaches to be usable in both austere settings and hospital settings at scale – maximizing the universality of our approaches. This made our technology also appropriate to the defence and security space: for forward care; mass-casualty response; and prolonged field care. DIANA’s mission – accelerating dual-use technologies that protect allies and citizens – perfectly fits ours. We applied to collaborate with NATO partners, advance operational testing, and co-develop deployment pathways for hypoxia, trauma, and human-performance use cases."
How does your tech differ from competitors?
"Our proprietary nanofluid – built from FDA-established materials—uniquely supports gas diffusion even when lungs are inflamed or fluid-filled. It’s non-toxic, portable, and room-temperature stable, enabling rapid use in clinical and field settings. Compared with devices or biologics that require infrastructure, SWAZA-1 is an advanced material designed for speed, scale, and real-world constraints."
What has been your biggest success or milestone to date since starting the DIANA programme?
"Since joining DIANA, Swaza has created new wound healing assets with relevance to emerging battlefield requirements, advanced work with BARDA, and initiated collaboration with NASA on space medicine applications. DIANA has opened doors to allied medical stakeholders and operational venues – accelerating field evaluation plans for SWAZA-1 in aeromedical, expeditionary, and pre-hospital care."
What’s next on the horizon for Swaza?
"We are preparing first-in-human studies of SWAZA-1 and planning joint evaluations with allied medical units to validate hypoxia and trauma use cases. In parallel, we’re expanding our oxygen platform into regenerative biogels for wound and frostbite care, and integrating with AI-enabled monitoring to deliver predictive, mission-ready care."