Harvard Professor Joins ExThera Medical Board

Michael Porter, Ph.D., has joined the board of directors of ExThera Medical Corporation, a privately held medical technology company focused on the therapeutic reduction of drug-resistant pathogens and sepsis mediators in whole blood. ExThera’s Seraph 100 Microbind Affinity Blood Filter (Seraph 100) has a CE Mark in Europe for the treatment of a wide range of bloodstream infections. In the United States, Seraph 100 has Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where it is being used successfully in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, many of whom are critically ill.
 
Porter, the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School, is recognized as a leading authority on competitive strategy, the competitiveness and economic development of nations and regions, and the application of competition and strategy principles to address social problems such as health care, the environment, and creating economic opportunity by increasing corporate social impact. Harvard University and Harvard Business School jointly created the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness dedicated to furthering Porter’s research. In addition, he has founded several non-profit organizations including the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), focused on revitalizing distressed economic urban communities, and the International Consortium for Health Outcome Measurements (ICHOM), the leader in developing patient centered health outcomes by medical condition, today encompassing 33 conditions affecting a substantial part of the disease burden.
 
“Dr. Porter’s global expertise in the strategic development of commercial organizations, his work on transformation of healthcare, and his relationships with numerous health systems and delivery organizations, will provide a new and welcomed perspective to ExThera as we expand the markets for our blood filter,” said Bob Ward, NAE president and board chairman. “Michael will provide world class guidance as a strategic advisor to the company. We are excited to welcome him to the board as we begin a period of significant growth.”
 
Porter earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, a master’s degree in business administration with high distinction from Harvard Business School, where he was a George F. Baker Scholar, and a Ph.D. in business economics from Harvard University. He has also been awarded numerous honorary doctorates from universities around the world. He is a member of the Princeton University Board of Trustees, and the author of 20 books and over 150 articles. Porter also co-chairs the editorial board for New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst, a journal for new approaches to healthcare delivery.
 
“I am truly excited about ExThera Medical’s business potential, and I am honored to be affiliated with this life-saving company at a time when medical innovation is more important than ever. ExThera Medical is a leading innovator in health technology and treating some of the most challenging and life-threatening medical conditions of our time,” said Porter.
 
As a patient’s blood flows through the Seraph filter, it passes over tiny beads with receptors that mimic the receptors on human cells that pathogens target when they invade the body. Harmful substances are quickly captured and adsorbed onto the surface of the beads and are thereby removed from the bloodstream. Seraph does not add anything to the blood, which is returned to the patient with blood cells and proteins intact. Seraph 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 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 bacteria, viruses, fungi, and important sepsis mediators reported to contribute to organ failure during sepsis. The ‘anti-thrombogenic’ heparin media can be combined with other ExThera-proprietary media to tailor the capability of future Seraph products for the treatment of specific diseases, or to further broaden Seraph’s capability.