Cerus Corporation Announces Group Purchasing Agreement with Blood Centers of America

CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cerus Corporation (Nasdaq: CERS) announced today that it has entered into a group purchasing agreement with Blood Centers of America (BCA), the largest blood supply cooperative in the U.S. BCA member blood centers produce approximately half of the U.S. platelet and cryoprecipitate supply. The agreement covers Cerus’ entire INTERCEPT product line. Under this agreement, Cerus will partner with BCA to drive expanded access to pathogen reduction technology for platelets, plasma and pathogen reduced cryoprecipitated fibrinogen complex, commonly referred to as INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex, or IFC, across their blood center membership.

“We are excited to partner with BCA and the 60+ independent community blood centers they represent. This agreement demonstrates our shared commitment to drive innovation and expand access to safer blood products,” said Vivek Jayaraman, Cerus’ chief operating officer. “We believe leveraging BCA’s resource sharing model will enable us to rapidly expand IFC adoption. Furthermore, this agreement provides access to pathogen-reduced platelets for new customers at both the blood center and hospital. I believe this agreement has the potential to be quite positive for BCA, their blood center membership and Cerus.”

“We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Cerus. We have a shared commitment to bringing innovation to the transfusion medicine market and are looking forward to a mutually rewarding partnership,” said Bill Block, BCA’s president and chief executive officer. “We believe pathogen inactivation is an important technology in blood safety and are pleased to be working with Cerus to expand availability within our membership.”

Under the terms of the agreement, ongoing production of IFC at BCA member blood centers will move under a resource-sharing model. This structure is designed to facilitate easier access to, and distribution of IFC across all BCA member blood centers and to their hospital customers. Through collaborative training and education initiatives, Cerus and BCA believe these efforts will expand awareness and adoption of pathogen reduction technologies.

ABOUT CERUS

Cerus Corporation is dedicated solely to safeguarding the world’s blood supply and aims to become the preeminent global blood products company. Headquartered in Concord, California, the company develops and supplies vital technologies and pathogen-protected blood components to blood centers, hospitals, and ultimately patients who rely on safe blood. The INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma is available globally and remains the only pathogen reduction system with both CE mark and FDA approval for these two blood components. In the U.S., the INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation is approved for the production of Pathogen Reduced Cryoprecipitated Fibrinogen Complex (commonly referred to as INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex), a therapeutic product for the treatment and control of bleeding, including massive hemorrhage, associated with fibrinogen deficiency. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is under regulatory review in Europe, and in late-stage clinical development in the U.S. For more information about Cerus, visit www.cerus.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Cerus, INTERCEPT and the Cerus logo are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.

ABOUT BLOOD CENTERS of AMERICA

Blood Centers of America (BCA) is the largest blood supply network in the U.S., uniquely positioning us to sustain, advocate and mobilize for the nation’s blood supply. Our 60+ independent community blood centers collect and distribute 50% of the nation’s blood supply, delivering reliable service with a profound commitment to the communities we serve. Pairing our deep local knowledge and extensive national network allows us to expand services, resources and cost savings for customers – and make investments in our communities. For more information about BCA, visit https://bca.coop/