BERKELEY, Calif. & STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Emergence LLC, a life science incubator, and ExThera AB, a technology transfer partner of Karolinska Institute, announced today the formation of a 50/50 joint venture company—ExThera Medical LLC. ExThera Medical’s extracorporeal affinity therapy technology uses immobilized, biologically active carbohydrates to remove pathogenic microorganisms, proteins and cells directly from blood. The first clinical application of ExThera Medical’s affinity therapy is expected to be the treatment of sepsis within intensive care units. In the U.S. over 750,000 patients per year acquire sepsis, and the mortality rate is approximately 33%. The annual cost of sepsis care is nearly $17 billion. In addition to sepsis, ExThera Medical’s technology may also be useful in the treatment or prevention of a variety of other bloodborne diseases.
