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Benjamin will lead the company’s clinical research and medical
affairs as Cerus expands use of its INTERCEPT pathogen reduction
system globally
CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) announced today that Richard J.
Benjamin, MD PhD has been appointed as chief medical officer of Cerus,
effective July 13, 2015. Dr. Benjamin joins Cerus from the American Red
Cross where, as the chief medical officer, he oversaw the organization’s
donor and patient safety issues related to blood collection and
transfusion.
“We have been privileged to have Dr. Laurence Corash serving as both our
chief medical officer and chief scientific officer since his co-founding
of the company. Today, we enhance an already formidable scientific and
medical team at Cerus with the addition of Dr. Benjamin, one of the
world’s foremost experts on blood safety,” said William 'Obi' Greenman,
president and chief executive officer of Cerus. “There is no one more
capable than Dr. Benjamin to lead Cerus’ clinical research and medical
affairs as we pursue commercialization of the INTERCEPT platelet and
plasma systems in the United States and take steps to advance the
INTERCEPT red blood cell system beyond clinical development.”
“The focus of my career has been to ensure the safety of both blood
donors and patients who require blood transfusions. As we look to the
future of blood safety and the needs of patients worldwide, it is
imperative that we take the most innovative path toward securing the
U.S. blood supply against new pathogens,” Benjamin said. “I believe
pathogen reduction is critical in this new era and in my new position, I
look forward to assisting hospitals and blood banks in taking a
proactive approach to reducing the risk of transfusion transmitted
infections through adoption of the world’s leading pathogen reduction
system.”
The appointment of Dr. Benjamin, following the recent approval by the
FDA of Cerus’ INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma,
underscores Cerus' mission to help protect the safety of the blood
supply in the United States and globally, especially as several emerging
blood-borne pathogens such as Chikungunya and dengue have become more
prevalent.
Cerus’ INTERCEPT 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 system has been approved for over a decade in
Europe for treatment of platelets and plasma, and is used by over 100
blood centers in Europe, the Commonweath of Independent States and the
Middle East.
Benjamin served as Chief Medical Officer of the American Red Cross since
2006. He is a board member and regional director for North America for
the International Society of Blood Transfusion, as well as an active
member of the AABB. He is an adjunct associate professor of pathology at
Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and has served on the US
Department of Health and Human Service's Advisory Committee on Blood
Safety and Availability.
Prior to joining the Red Cross, Dr. Benjamin was a medical director at
the Adult Transfusion Service at the Joint Program in Transfusion
Medicine at Harvard University. He received his PhD in immunology from
Cambridge University in England, and completed his post-doctoral
research at Stanford University. Dr. Benjamin's medical degree is from
the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Dr. Benjamin is well-versed in the INTERCEPT technology, having
previously served as an investigator in US Phase III studies for
INTERCEPT platelets, plasma and red blood cells. Recently he has been a
sub-investigator on Cerus’ Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) study
for treatment of convalescent plasma collected from Ebola disease
survivors for passive immune therapy within the United States.
Laurence M. Corash, MD, will continue to serve as Cerus' chief
scientific officer as well as corporate director, focusing on continued
advocacy for the role of pathogen reduction within international health
care policy, supporting the expanding adoption of the INTERCEPT blood
systems, and exploring new applications for the technology.
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.
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Source: Cerus Corporation