CONCORD, Calif. & SARASOTA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) and the SunCoast Blood Bank (SCBB)
announced today that they have signed a three-year purchase agreement
for the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma. SCBB collects
over 45,000 units of blood products, including 6,000 units of platelets
and over 5,500 plasma units per year, to support 12 hospitals.
“The choice for us to partner with Cerus was easy. If there is a product
on the market that dramatically reduces the transmission of pathogens
and parasites, then we owe it to our patients and our community to
provide it,” said Scott Bush, chief executive officer of SCBB. “We are
very excited to become the first blood center in Florida to offer
INTERCEPT-treated components, to mitigate transfusion related incidents.
SunCoast Blood Bank has a commitment to serving our community through
forward thinking and innovative technologies supporting our primary
mission, squarely focusing on the health and welfare of our patients.”
“We are proud to be working with a progressive blood center such as
SunCoast, to positively impact patient lives through the implementation
of INTERCEPT pathogen reduction technology,” commented William 'Obi'
Greenman, Cerus’ president and chief executive officer. “In addition to
reduced transfusion transmission risk, we believe INTERCEPT will offer
the added benefit of early platelet release, thereby increasing platelet
units’ effective shelf life, and providing SunCoast the flexibility to
offer its hospitals fresher platelets for improved patient outcomes.”
ABOUT SUNCOAST BLOOD BANK
SunCoast Blood Bank (SCBB) is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit
organization, providing a reliable supply of safe blood products and
transfusion services to Southwest Florida for 66 years. SCBB offers a
variety of blood products and specialized services such as bedside
Therapuetic Apheresis, transfusion testing, and patient blood management
for Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System, Manatee Memorial Hospital,
Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Complex
Care Hospital at Ridgelake, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of
Sarasota, Surgery Center at St. Andrews Venice, North Port
Emergency Room, Fawcett Memorial Hospital of Port Charlotte,
Englewood Community Hospital, DeSoto Memorial Hospital and Bayflite 2
Emergency Helicopter Transport. SCBB is recognized as a distinguished
provider with outstanding customer service and the ability to provide
rare blood services onsite. For SCBB donor locations and more
information, visit www.scbb.org
or call 1-866-97-BLOOD.
ABOUT CERUS
Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused in the field
of blood 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 http://www.cerus.com
for information about Cerus.
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 regarding the expected impact
of implementing the INTERCEPT Blood System at the SunCoast Blood Bank.
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 implementation and use of
the INTERCEPT Blood System and other risks detailed in Cerus' filings
with the SEC, including exhibit 99.1 of Cerus' current report on Form
8-K filed with the SEC on January 5, 2015. 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.
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Source: Cerus Corporation and SunCoast Blood Bank