CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) announced today that Andrew Gomperts has
joined the company as chief business officer and vice president,
business development and marketing. Mr. Gomperts will be responsible for
establishing strategic alliances to accelerate global sales growth and
development progress for the INTERCEPT Blood System, as well as securing
new business opportunities for the company.
Mr. Gomperts comes to Cerus with extensive experience in the
biopharmaceutical industry, having most recently served as head of
corporate and business development at Sangart. Prior to Sangart, he was
a director in the venture operations group at Idealab, a venture capital
holding company. Mr. Gomperts was also previously in senior management
with Prometheus Laboratories, a specialty pharmaceutical company, where
he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, corporate partnering,
licensing and strategic planning. Prior to Prometheus, he spent five
years with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Gomperts received Bachelor of Science
degrees in Chemistry and Economics from the University of California,
Los Angeles, a JD from Stanford Law School and an MBA from the Wharton
School.
“Andrew joins us at an exciting time for Cerus as INTERCEPT platelets
and plasma sales continue to demonstrate strong growth and as we prepare
to enter Phase III for red cells in Europe,“ said William ‘Obi’
Greenman, president and chief executive officer. "We expect his
contributions to be instrumental in our pursuit of new markets in Asia,
North America, and around the globe."
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, the Commonwealth of Independent States,
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 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 potential growth
in INTERCEPT platelet and plasma sales, the potential initiation of a
Phase III trial for INTERCEPT red blood cells in Europe, and potential
new market opportunities. These forward-looking statements are based
upon Cerus’ 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
commercialization and market acceptance of, and customer demand for, the
INTERCEPT Blood System, risks respecting the uncertain and
time-consuming clinical development and regulatory process, including
the risk that clinical trials for INTERCEPT red blood cells may not be
initiated in a timely manner, or at all, as well as risks relating to
the outcome of red blood cell clinical trials and adverse decisions or
actions by regulatory agencies, risks relating to the sufficiency of
Cerus’ cash resources to conduct and complete clinical trials for
INTERCEPT red blood cells, and other risks detailed in the Cerus'
filings with, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in
Cerus' quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30,
2011, filed with the SEC on November 3, 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