CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) announced today that it has signed a
master agreement with Blood Systems, Inc. (BSI) for use of the INTERCEPT
Blood System for platelets and plasma.
BSI is one of America’s oldest and largest comprehensive transfusion
medicine organizations, representing approximately 10 percent of the
nation’s blood supply. Collectively, BSI and its affiliates distribute
240,000 platelet and 380,000 plasma units annually to more than 700
hospitals across the country. Also part of BSI, the Blood Systems
Research Institute (BSRI) is dedicated to advancing blood safety
worldwide through scientific research, education, and the promotion of
evidence-based policies.
“We believe that pathogen reduction may play an important role in
protecting the US blood supply,” said David Green, president of BSI's
Blood Centers Division. “This agreement will allow us to move forward
with INTERCEPT implementation at Community Blood Services in the near
term, and potentially streamline the addition of other BSI centers in
the future.”
“Through the Blood Systems Research Institute, BSI is a global leader
with respect to research on transfusion-transmitted infectious
diseases,” commented William 'Obi' Greenman, Cerus’ president and chief
executive officer. “INTERCEPT pathogen reduction is closely aligned with
BSI’s mission of seeking out evidence-based strategies that reduce costs
and improve patient safety and outcomes.”
Community Blood Services, which distributes blood components to 22
hospitals in the New Jersey / New York region, will be the next BSI site
to implement the INTERCEPT Blood System. Cerus had also previously
announced a contract with BSI affiliate Bonfils Blood Center in July
2015.
ABOUT BLOOD SYSTEMS
Blood Systems is one of the nation’s oldest and largest non-profit blood
service providers. Its Blood Centers Division (Blood Centers of the
Pacific, Bonfils Blood Center, Community Blood Services, Inland
Northwest Blood Center, Lifeblood, LifeShare, LifeStream and United
Blood Services) provides blood, blood components and special services to
patients in more than 700 hospitals in 24 states.
Blood Systems Research Institute generates and analyzes data to aid the
US and worldwide transfusion community by recommending testing
strategies and technology. Creative Testing Solutions, a co-owned
venture with OneBlood, the Institute for Transfusion Medicine and
Bloodworks Northwest, is the largest independent blood donor testing
organization in the country, and tests approximately 33 percent of the
United States blood supply at three high volume laboratories in Dallas,
Phoenix and Tampa. The BioCARE division distributes therapeutic
biologicals and recombinant coagulation factors, including such products
as albumin, coagulation factors, fibrin sealants, IVIG, and Rh immune
globulin.
See www.BloodSystems.org
for more information about Blood Systems.
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