CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) announced today that it has received an
additional $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to support
advanced development of the company's pathogen inactivation technology
for red blood cells. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is a pathogen
inactivation product Cerus is developing to prevent the transmission of
infectious diseases through red blood cell transfusions.
"The U.S. Department of Defense continues to be a strong supporter of
pathogen inactivation," said Dr. Laurence Corash, Cerus' chief medical
officer. "This award will allow Cerus to support advanced development of
the INTERCEPT Blood System for red blood cells."
The award, granted by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition
Activity, covers program-related costs incurred between September 2010
and September 2011. The award has been granted to Cerus with the
ultimate goal of successful development of the INTERCEPT Blood System
for red blood cells, which could potentially provide the U.S. military
personnel with prospective protection against transfusion-transmitted
diseases. To date, Cerus has received more than $30 million in funding
from the U.S. Department of Defense to improve blood safety for the U.S.
military.
ABOUT CERUS
Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused on
commercializing the INTERCEPT Blood System to enhance blood safety. The
INTERCEPT system is designed to reduce the risk of
transfusion-transmitted diseases by inactivating a broad range of
pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and parasites that may be present in
donated blood. The nucleic acid targeting mechanism of action allows
INTERCEPT treatment to inactivate both established transfusion threats,
such as hepatitis, HIV, West Nile virus and bacteria, as well as
emerging pathogens such as influenza, malaria and dengue. Cerus
currently markets and sells the INTERCEPT Blood System for both
platelets and plasma in Europe, Russia, the Middle East and selected
countries in other regions around the world, with over 600,000 units
transfused to date. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is in clinical
development. Visit http://www.cerus.com
for more information.
INTERCEPT and INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any
statements contained in this press release that are not statements of
historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation, statements relating to the potential for
the INTERCEPT Blood System for red blood cells to provide U.S. military
personnel protection against transfusion-transmitted diseases. Words
such as "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are
based upon the company's current expectations. Actual results
could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a
result of certain factors, including, without limitation, risks
associated with the commercial adoption and market acceptance of the
INTERCEPT Blood System, the uncertainty of future clinical trial
results, as well as other risks detailed in the Cerus' filings with, the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in Cerus' annual
report on Form 10-Q for the quarter and year ended June 30, 2010. No
pathogen inactivation system has been shown to inactivate all pathogens.
You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
press release. Cerus does not undertake any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future
events, changed assumptions or otherwise.
Source: Cerus Corporation