Our Company

ExThera Medical develops and commercializes extracorporeal blood filtration devices, including the Seraph^® 100 Microbind^® Affinity Blood Filter, and ONCObind™ Blood Filter for removing a broad range of harmful substances from the bloodstream of patients. ExThera Medical’s extracorporeal products have demonstrated life-saving capabilities in a wide range of critically ill patients suffering from severe infections, and the potential to treat stage 4 metastatic cancer patients. With a growing body of outcome and health economic evidence from independent clinical studies, participation in the DARPA dialysis-like therapeutics program, from successful clinical use in the U.S. and EU for the treatment of bloodstream infections, and with positive in vitro test results demonstrating removal of circulating tumor cells, the company is well-positioned to serve healthcare professionals and patients alike.

ExThera Medical was formed in 2007 through a joint venture between the Emergence Venture Partners Life Science Incubator and ExThera AB at the Karolinska Institute of Stockholm with a focus on therapeutic applications to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR). From this collaboration, the application of novel pathogen and circulating tumor cell adsorption intellectual property was developed to what is now branded as the Seraph^® 100 and ONCObind™ blood filters.

Robert Ward, NAE, Ph.D. (h) | Chairman and President

Prior to ExThera, Robert Ward was President, CEO, and Founder of the Polymer Technology Group (PTG) in Berkeley, California. PTG was sold to Royal DSM with a 132X investor return. Prior to a successful entrepreneurial career, Robert was Director of Research at Avco Medical Products and later spent a decade at Thoratec as President of the Biomaterials Division. He has numerous technical publications and patents and has received multiple awards and recognitions. Robert studied engineering management and polymer science at Northeastern University and received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

Keith McCrea, Ph.D. | Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Science Officer

Keith McCrea began his career at The Polymer Technology Group (PTG), where he built a state-of-the-art surface analysis laboratory focusing on a custom-built advanced laser technique that has been used to aid in the identification and development of new intellectual property at ExThera. Keith has led R&D projects to develop new materials for several different medical applications and has a doctorate in physical chemistry, with an emphasis on surface modification and characterization from University of California, Berkeley. Keith also serves on the scientific advisory board of NESAC/BIO, an NIH-sponsored program at the University of Washington with a mission to develop new techniques to solve biomedical related problems associated with surfaces and interfaces.

Erin Borger | Chief Executive Officer

Prior to joining ExThera, Erin spent 20 years in finance at both Morgan Stanley and UBS Financial Services. Erin has extensive board experience in healthcare and education. He currently sits on the Boards of Sepsis Alliance and the Applebaum Foundation. Previously he held positions as Board Member or equivalent for Longeveron (NASD:LGVN), National Parkinson’s Foundation, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Chris Evert Children’s Hospital Foundation, Queen for a Day Foundation, Crockett Foundation, Palisades Medical Center Foundation, F.I.N. Sea Foundation, Avon Old Farm School, and many others.

Lakhmir Chawla, M.D.

Dr. Chawla is the CMO of Exthera Medical and President of Stavro Medical, acquired by ExThera Medical, to develop and launch single Lumen Access Alternating Micro Batch extracorporeal equipment and related products. Prior, he served as CMO at La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company where he oversaw the development and conduct of the company’s pivotal pharmaceutical trial. Prior academic appointments include Professor of Medicine at George Washington University, where he held dual appointments in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and in the Department of Medicine, Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, and was previously the Chief of the Division of Intensive Care Medicine at the Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center. During his tenure at George Washington, Dr. Chawla was the designer and lead investigator of a pilot study called ATHOS (Angiotensin II for the Treatment of High Output Shock). Data from the ATHOS trial was used to support the initiation of La Jolla’s ATHOS 3 trial, that helped support the FDA and EMA approval of GIAPREZA (angiotensin II). Thereafter, Dr. Chawla oversaw the Medical Affairs launch and commercialization of GIAPREZA. Dr. Chawla is an internationally renowned expert in the field of acute kidney injury (AKI) and shock. He remains an active investigator in the fields of AKI biomarkers, AKI risk prediction, AKI therapeutics and chronic kidney disease caused by AKI.  He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and he is a recipient of the International Vicenza Award for Critical Care Nephrology; an award that recognizes individuals who have made seminal clinical research advancements that have significantly improved the care of critically ill patients with AKI and whose advancements have been adopted worldwide.

Sallie Coviello | Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Quality

Sallie began her career in research and development at The Polymer Technology Group (PTG) working directly with physicians and engineers to develop and fabricate medical device prototypes used in benchtop and clinical studies. Since then, she has gained 25+ years of experience in a variety of positions including Principle Quality Engineer, Director of Device Development, Director of Manufacturing at DSM Biomedical and VP of Operations at Actamax Surgical Materials, LLC, then a DSM Biomedical-DuPont joint venture. Sallie’s background in Class II and III devices allowed her to experience quality from a variety of perspectives and provided an ideal basis for her transition to quality management in the medical device industry. Sallie received a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology, Product Design with a minor in Business Administration from San Francisco State University.

Michael DiMeo, M.B.A. | Chief Financial Officer

Michael DiMeo, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, leverages over 25 years of experience in financial management and capital structuring of MedTech companies in life science, oncolytic and exosome diagnostics. As Chief Financial Officer for Vibalogics, Michael led M&A activities to accelerate the company’s successful sale in just one year. Michael was part of the integration team for the landmark merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific and went on to serve in finance leadership roles to transform the profitability of multiple Thermo Fisher Scientific businesses. He was the finance lead for Eastman Kodak’s photographic gelatin business. Michael has an undergraduate degree in Biology and an MBA from Northeastern University in Boston.

Sanja Ilic, M.D., M.S., RAC | Chief Regulatory Officer and Vice President of Clinical, Regulatory and Medical Affairs

Dr. Sanja Ilic, the company’s Chief Regulatory Officer, is an internationally recognized Physician with over 25 years of global regulatory, clinical, and medical affairs experience in the healthcare industry (Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Hologic, and startups), with demonstrated ability to establish successful clinical development and medical affairs strategies, and efficiently secure regulatory approvals in many categories of medical systems including diagnostics, Class I, II and Class III devices, and Device Drug/Biologic combination products. Extensive track record in guiding excellence in product safety and development, focusing on achieving successful global product launches, developing strong relationships with regulatory authorities, building deep technical knowledge and talent bases, and implementing strategic process improvements.

Samuel  Shull, M.B.A. | Chief Business Officer

Sam has served in several global commercial leadership roles with more than 20 years’ experience in the hospital sector. For the last 10 years he has served the renal extracorporeal critical care community commercializing medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and in vitro diagnostic products. Career highlights include product marketing through notable acquisitions; Most recently Astute Medical and subsequent acquisition, and Gambro/Baxter International/Inc. Experience includes responsibility for product launches, early market development commercial growth, >$100M mature product portfolio management, and strategic development initiatives therein. Sam has a Master’s of Business Administration degree in Finance and International Management from the UC Davis Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the UC Davis College of Engineering.

Franklin R. Cockerill, III, MD, FACP, FACCP, FAAM, FIDSA

Dr. Frank Cockerill is currently Founding Partner of Trusted Health Advisors, a private consulting company for clinical diagnostic testing. His clients include both Fortune 500 and start-up companies. He also carries the academic appointment of Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Cockerill has been a leader in development and commercialization of diagnostics and medical services across disease areas and technologies. He most recently served as the CEO and CMO of Analyte Health, a leader in virtual care diagnostic services. Before joining Analyte Health, Dr. Cockerill was the Chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, and President and CEO of Mayo Medical Laboratories. While at Mayo he also carried a named professorship, the Ann and Leo Markin Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at the Mayo Medical School.

Dr. Cockerill and his research team at Mayo developed numerous real-time PCR assays, which have significant advantages over conventional culture-based assays, and include the first commercially available rapid PCR test for Anthrax. This work has resulted in 10 patents and 56 licensed technologies. Recently, Dr. Cockerill provided a pivotal role for one of the first clinical studies of self-swabbing for COVID-19 infection in the US. He helped coordinate the swift development and execution of the study, along with the Gates Foundation, Everett Clinic (United Healthcare) and Quest Diagnostics, in March 2020 which resulted in one of the earliest FDA emergency use self-testing methods for COVID-19.

Stuart Goldstein, M.D.

Dr. Goldstein contributes expertise in nephrology and brings to the board a unique perspective from his background in pediatric care. In addition to his current role at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, he holds a faculty position as a professor of pediatrics for the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine. Dr. Goldstein has also led and contributed research support for several research investigations focused on device therapies, including those with emphasis on renal failure and end-stage renal disease, for various institutions.

2018 – Received the Team Research Award for Learning Networks, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

2017 – Elected Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology

2016 – Awarded the Presidential Citation, Society for Critical Care Medicine

Dr. Goldstein received a bachelor’s degree from Pitzer College and a medical degree from Columbia University.

Peter Kuhn, Ph.D.

Peter Kuhn, Ph.D., is University Professor at University of Southern California and holds chairs as the Dean’s Professor of Biological Sciences, Professor of Medicine, Urology, Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering. He is the Director of the USC Michelson Convergent Science Institute in Cancer (CSI-Cancer) and the multi-institutional Convergent Science Cancer Consortium. He holds a chair as Honorary Professor of Cancer Science at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.

He is a scientist, educator and entrepreneur with a career long commitment in personalized medicine and individualized cancer patient care. The first product from technology developed by Dr. Kuhn became available for prostate cancer care in 2016 and breast cancer in 2021. Dr. Kuhn’s strategy is to advance our understanding of the human body to improve the human condition for those affected by cancer. His research is shedding new light on how cancer spreads through the body and evolves over time. This new science will lead to a personalized care strategy that is biologically informed and clinically actionable. Dr. Kuhn has published over 300 peer reviewed manuscripts, and his work has been cited over 28,000 times.

Jay Wohlgemuth M.D.

Dr. J is a founding Partner of Genesis Biocapital, a venture fund focused on breakthrough therapies enabled by data and diagnostics and Partner at Trusted Health Advisors which focuses on accelerating healthcare innovation with partner organizations. He has years of experience leading healthcare innovation efforts in diagnostic testing, medical devices, virtual care and digital health, pharmaceutical and companion diagnostics development. Dr. J served as CMO, CSO and SVP for Quest Diagnostics over a period of 14 years. In that role, he was responsible for R&D, Medical Affairs, Medical Quality and Regulatory. He also ran Quest’s self-insured health plan for over 60,000 members as well as the Employer Population Health business. Dr. J ran Quest’s scientific and medical response to Covid-19 and received a C. Everett Koop Award for best population health program in 2020 for his work with Quest’s employee health plan.

He served as CMO of HealthTap, a virtual care company and he worked previously for Genentech / Roche as the development team leader for Ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) in multiple sclerosis and rheumatology and director of diagnostics for programs outside of oncology. Dr. J was co-founder, CMO and VP R&D for CareDx, a leader in testing for transplant patients, for which he was awarded Technology Pioneer 2005 at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He served as chairman of the board of the Personalized Medicine Coalition.