CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) announced today that Rhode Island Blood
Center (RIBC) has signed a purchase agreement for the INTERCEPT Blood
System for platelets and plasma. Rhode Island Blood Center is the
primary supplier of blood products to hospitals in Rhode Island, and
also services hospitals in nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut. RIBC
distributes approximately 12,500 platelet and 42,000 plasma units
annually.
“Continuing to layer on screening tests to detect emerging pathogens
that pose a risk to patients puts an economic strain on blood centers.
We have experienced this first hand with babesiosis, a serious tickborne
disease common in Rhode Island,” said Lawrence Smith, President and CEO
of the Rhode Island Blood Center. “The opportunity to proactively
decrease the risk of transfusion-transmitted diseases made implementing
INTERCEPT a priority to continue to fulfill our mission of providing a
safe, plentiful and cost-effective blood supply.”
The Rhode Island Blood Center was founded by the hospitals in Rhode
Island in 1979 to develop a more efficient system of collecting,
testing, and distributing blood products. It has established itself
among the leading blood collection agencies nationally, and has grown to
a full-service regional blood center, providing testing, collections, a
marrow program, and in-hospital therapeutic treatment program for
patients. RIBC is a member of Blood Centers of America, a member-owned
organization comprised of independent blood centers throughout North
America.
ABOUT CERUS
Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused in the field
of blood transfusion safety. The INTERCEPT Blood System is designed to
reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections 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 of the INTERCEPT treatment is designed to inactivate established
transfusion threats, such as Hepatitis B and C, HIV, West Nile Virus and
bacteria, as well as emerging pathogens such as chikungunya, malaria and
dengue. Cerus currently markets and sells the INTERCEPT Blood System for
both platelets and plasma in the United States, 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 www.cerus.com
for more information about Cerus.
INTERCEPT and INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.
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Source: Cerus Corporation