CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Board of Directors of Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) announced
today that William “Obi” Greenman has been appointed president and chief
executive officer, and a director on Cerus’ Board, effective
immediately. Mr. Greenman succeeds Claes Glassell, who has resigned as
president and chief executive officer, and as director on Cerus’ Board,
to join a privately held company. Mr. Greenman previously served as the
company’s chief business officer.
“We are extremely fortunate to transfer Cerus’ leadership to Obi, who
has already applied his passion and depth of knowledge to critical roles
at the company,” said B.J. Cassin, chairman of the Cerus Board. “I
believe he is the ideal person to drive the company forward to grow
sales in Europe and pursue new opportunities for the INTERCEPT platelet
and plasma systems in Asia, South America, the United States, and
beyond. Obi’s INTERCEPT development experience will be particularly
valuable as the company seeks to advance its red cell system through
Phase III trials toward commercial launch.”
“I’m excited by the opportunity to build on the success Cerus has
achieved to date,” said Mr. Greenman. “I am deeply committed to Cerus’
mission to protect patients from transfusion-transmitted infections. I
believe our INTERCEPT Blood System will have a global impact on blood
safety, and look forward to leading the company into this next phase of
growth. I plan to share my vision for Cerus at our upcoming earnings
call on April 28.”
Mr. Cassin also stated, “We greatly appreciate Claes’ strong and
effective leadership during his service as CEO. His contributions have
been instrumental in growing sales of the INTERCEPT Blood System and
bringing improved blood safety to over 80 blood centers in 15 countries.
Claes and Obi have worked closely together, and we expect this
transition to be seamless for our customers, distribution partners and
employees.”
Mr. Greenman has been Cerus' chief business officer since April 2010.
Previously, he was senior vice president, business development and
marketing. From 2006 to 2008, he held the position of president, Cerus
Europe, and prior to that, he served as vice president, business
development. Prior to joining Cerus in 1995 as director of business
development, Mr. Greenman worked in various marketing and business
development positions in Baxter’s Biotech Division from 1991 to 1995.
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 enables
INTERCEPT treatment to inactivate established transfusion threats, such
as hepatitis B and C, HIV, West Nile virus and bacteria, and is designed
to inactivate 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. The INTERCEPT red blood
cell system is in clinical development. See http://www.cerus.com
for more information.
INTERCEPT and the 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 Cerus’
expectations regarding the transition in leadership and the impact of
the INTERCEPT Blood System on blood safety. 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 our ability to effect a smooth management transition,
the success of clinical trials, sufficiency of capital resources and
commercial adoption of INTERCEPT pathogen inactivation technology, 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-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, filed with the SEC on March
16, 2011. 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