Cerus Corporation And Blood Bank Of Delmarva Enter Into Agreement For The Use Of INTERCEPT Platelets And Plasma

CONCORD, Calif. & NEWARK, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) and the Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) announced today that they have signed a three-year purchase agreement for the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma. BBD provides blood transfusion products and services to hospitals and patients in Delaware, Cecil County, Maryland, as well as Maryland’s and Virginia’s Eastern Shores. BBD supplies approximately 13,000 platelet and 21,000 plasma units per year.

“We look forward to supporting Delmarva to fulfill their mission for improved blood safety.”

“The implementation of the INTERCEPT system aligns with our mission of providing safe, effective blood products that best serve our hospital and patient community,” said Roy Roper, president and chief executive officer of BBD. “We are excited to be one of the first centers to adopt pathogen reduction as a proactive measure to mitigate the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections in our blood supply.”

“The majority of platelet transfusions occur in cancer patients, some of which will receive multiple units over the course of their therapy. It’s exciting and rewarding as a blood center to be in a position to favorably impact the treatment of these patients by providing platelet products that substantially reduce the risk of transmitting viruses and bacteria, and limit the risk of transfusion mediated graft versus host disease,” said Theresa Boyd, MD, Medical Director.

“We are very pleased that the Blood Bank of Delmarva has chosen INTERCEPT to help protect patients against transfusion transmitted agents such as bacteria and emerging pathogens,” commented William “Obi” Greenman, Cerus’ president and chief executive officer. “We look forward to supporting Delmarva to fulfill their mission for improved blood safety.”

ABOUT BLOOD BANK OF DELMARVA

Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) community service organization that provides blood and blood components for hospitals in the Delmarva region. For over 60 years, Blood Bank of Delmarva has ensured a safe and continuous supply of blood to meet the needs of over 20,000 patients annually. In addition to blood provisioning, BBD operates a full service regional laboratory providing testing services for blood collection centers. BBD is FDA licensed, a member of America’s Blood Centers, and accredited by AABB. For more information, visit http://www.DelmarvaBlood.org.

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 Blood Bank of Delmarva. 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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