CONCORD, Calif. & AUGUSTA, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) announced today that Shepeard Community
Blood Center (Shepeard) has signed a purchase agreement for the
INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma. Shepeard serves 20
hospitals in and around Augusta, Georgia, distributing approximately
4,500 platelet and 12,000 plasma units annually.
“Not only will INTERCEPT processing offer us peace of mind that we are
providing blood components of the highest safety standard, it offers
Shepeard the opportunity to streamline our supply logistics,” said Kevin
Belanger, Shepeard’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“Incorporating INTERCEPT processing into our in-house lab will
revolutionize our operations and allow us the potential to release
platelet units to our community hospitals with a much quicker turn
around. INTERCEPT processing will also eliminate the need for certain
time consuming procedures, such as bacterial testing.”
“With a five-day shelf life for platelets constraining their current
supply chain, the opportunity for Shepeard to deliver platelet units to
their hospitals one day earlier is quite meaningful. It will allow
patients to receive a fresher product and allow hospitals to reduce
wastage,” commented William "Obi" Greenman, Cerus’ President and Chief
Executive Officer. “We look forward to implementing the INTERCEPT Blood
System into Shepeard’s blood center operations.”
ABOUT SHEPEARD COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER
Headquartered in Augusta, Ga., the award-winning Shepeard Community
Blood Center serves the blood needs of the Central Savannah River area.
The nonprofit organization collects approximately 40,000 units of blood
annually at its two Georgia donor centers (Augusta and Evans) and a
third in Aiken, South Carolina. It is contracted to distribute blood and
blood products to 20 hospitals in the greater Augusta area. Shepeard is
a member of America’s Blood Centers, North America’s largest network of
community-based, independent blood centers, providing more than 50% of
the nation’s blood supply. See www.shepeardblood.org
for more information.
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 information about Cerus.
INTERCEPT and the INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus
Corporation.
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Source: Cerus Corporation