Michael Barbella, Managing Editor02.21.24
ExThera Medical Corporation has a new leader.
The company recently named Erin Borger as CEO. Borger has been in finance for the last 20 years at both UBS and Morgan Stanley, and brings with him a wealth of knowledge in the healthcare space. ExThera Medical Chairman, President, and Founder Robert Ward will continue in those roles while focusing on research, product development/IP and manufacturing scale up.
Borger most recently worked as managing director and director of Strategic Growth at UBS Financial Services Inc. Most notably he was market head for Northern California, where he was in charge of 17 locations, and hundreds of employees. While at UBS he received the three most prestigious awards a manager could achieve including Branch Manager of the Year, Market Head of the Year, and the Ed Connolly Award. He also served as executive sponsor for the Young Professionals Network and was a Global Volunteer Award winner.
"I am honored to have the once in a lifetime opportunity to lead ExThera's mission to save lives and I have an obligation to myself, my family, and the world to make sure ExThera succeeds. Having reviewed companies all over the planet, ExThera has the opportunity to change the way we think about infectious disease and oncology. Our forward-looking vision for ExThera is clear, that we accelerate the availability of our life-saving technologies to the world through building a team, global commercialization, clinical trials and partnering with government entities,” Borger said.
Borger has been recognized for stabilizing and growing businesses while attracting top talent. He recruited financial advisors from Morgan Stanley, Bank of America/ML, J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, Janney Montgomery, First Republic, RW Baird, RBC, and elsewhere.
“We are excited to have Erin build out the team. His ability to seek out and recruit top professionals will take ExThera to the next level, focusing on advancing ExThera technologies, in areas of oncology, sepsis, and COVID-19, some of which received breakthrough designation,” Ward stated. “After 52 years in senior positions within the MedTech field, I am happy to turn over CEO duties to Erin while continuing to apply my core strengths and interests to device and biomaterials R&D/manufacturing.”
Borger has been involved in the healthcare space for many years. He recently sat on the Board of Directors for the stem cell company Longeveron and is currently a board member of the Sepsis Alliance, the Applebaum Foundation, and ExThera Medical. Previously, Borger served as a board member of the National Parkinson’s Foundation, Easter Seals South Florida, F.I.N. Sea Foundation, Queen for a Day, and the Crockett Foundation. He also held roles on Avon Old Farm School’s National Council, Chris Evert Children’s Hospital Foundation Advisory Board, Cystic Fibrosis South Florida’s Advisory Board, Palisades Medical Center’s Foundation Board, and University of Miami - Miller School of Medicine’s Visiting Committee and Neurology Committee.
ExThera Medical Corporation develops and commercializes extracorporeal blood filtration devices, including the Seraph 100 MicroBind Affinity Blood Filter for removing a broad range of pathogens from patients' bloodstreams. Seraph can be used in hospitals, clinics, on battlefields and in other austere environments to address nosocomial and community-acquired infections as well as those caused by battlefield wounds, pandemics, and biological warfare agents. ExThera Medical’s extracorporeal products have demonstrated life-saving capabilities in various critically ill patients suffering from sepsis, COVID-19, and other severe bloodstream infections. The Seraph 100 attained CE Mark and is commercially available in the EU. The Seraph 100 has U.S. Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for treating COVID-19.
As a patient’s blood flows through the Seraph 100 filter, it passes through a bed of small beads with receptors that mimic the receptors on human cells that pathogens target when they invade the body. Many harmful substances are quickly captured and adsorbed onto the surface of the beads and are thereby subtracted from the bloodstream. Seraph adds nothing to the bloodstream. It targets the pathogens that cause the infection, while it also binds and removes harmful substances generated by the pathogen and by the body’s response to the infection. Seraph’s proprietary adsorption media (the beads) constitute a flexible platform that uses immobilized (chemically bonded) heparin for its well-established blood compatibility and its unique ability to bind circulating tumor cells, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and important sepsis mediators reported to contribute to organ failure during sepsis.
The company recently named Erin Borger as CEO. Borger has been in finance for the last 20 years at both UBS and Morgan Stanley, and brings with him a wealth of knowledge in the healthcare space. ExThera Medical Chairman, President, and Founder Robert Ward will continue in those roles while focusing on research, product development/IP and manufacturing scale up.
Borger most recently worked as managing director and director of Strategic Growth at UBS Financial Services Inc. Most notably he was market head for Northern California, where he was in charge of 17 locations, and hundreds of employees. While at UBS he received the three most prestigious awards a manager could achieve including Branch Manager of the Year, Market Head of the Year, and the Ed Connolly Award. He also served as executive sponsor for the Young Professionals Network and was a Global Volunteer Award winner.
"I am honored to have the once in a lifetime opportunity to lead ExThera's mission to save lives and I have an obligation to myself, my family, and the world to make sure ExThera succeeds. Having reviewed companies all over the planet, ExThera has the opportunity to change the way we think about infectious disease and oncology. Our forward-looking vision for ExThera is clear, that we accelerate the availability of our life-saving technologies to the world through building a team, global commercialization, clinical trials and partnering with government entities,” Borger said.
Borger has been recognized for stabilizing and growing businesses while attracting top talent. He recruited financial advisors from Morgan Stanley, Bank of America/ML, J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, Janney Montgomery, First Republic, RW Baird, RBC, and elsewhere.
“We are excited to have Erin build out the team. His ability to seek out and recruit top professionals will take ExThera to the next level, focusing on advancing ExThera technologies, in areas of oncology, sepsis, and COVID-19, some of which received breakthrough designation,” Ward stated. “After 52 years in senior positions within the MedTech field, I am happy to turn over CEO duties to Erin while continuing to apply my core strengths and interests to device and biomaterials R&D/manufacturing.”
Borger has been involved in the healthcare space for many years. He recently sat on the Board of Directors for the stem cell company Longeveron and is currently a board member of the Sepsis Alliance, the Applebaum Foundation, and ExThera Medical. Previously, Borger served as a board member of the National Parkinson’s Foundation, Easter Seals South Florida, F.I.N. Sea Foundation, Queen for a Day, and the Crockett Foundation. He also held roles on Avon Old Farm School’s National Council, Chris Evert Children’s Hospital Foundation Advisory Board, Cystic Fibrosis South Florida’s Advisory Board, Palisades Medical Center’s Foundation Board, and University of Miami - Miller School of Medicine’s Visiting Committee and Neurology Committee.
ExThera Medical Corporation develops and commercializes extracorporeal blood filtration devices, including the Seraph 100 MicroBind Affinity Blood Filter for removing a broad range of pathogens from patients' bloodstreams. Seraph can be used in hospitals, clinics, on battlefields and in other austere environments to address nosocomial and community-acquired infections as well as those caused by battlefield wounds, pandemics, and biological warfare agents. ExThera Medical’s extracorporeal products have demonstrated life-saving capabilities in various critically ill patients suffering from sepsis, COVID-19, and other severe bloodstream infections. The Seraph 100 attained CE Mark and is commercially available in the EU. The Seraph 100 has U.S. Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for treating COVID-19.
As a patient’s blood flows through the Seraph 100 filter, it passes through a bed of small beads with receptors that mimic the receptors on human cells that pathogens target when they invade the body. Many harmful substances are quickly captured and adsorbed onto the surface of the beads and are thereby subtracted from the bloodstream. Seraph adds nothing to the bloodstream. It targets the pathogens that cause the infection, while it also binds and removes harmful substances generated by the pathogen and by the body’s response to the infection. Seraph’s proprietary adsorption media (the beads) constitute a flexible platform that uses immobilized (chemically bonded) heparin for its well-established blood compatibility and its unique ability to bind circulating tumor cells, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and important sepsis mediators reported to contribute to organ failure during sepsis.