31 October 2017 - - Concord, California-based biomedical products company Cerus Corp. (NASDAQ: CERS) has entered into a supply agreement with Centro de Transfusión de la Comunidad de Madrid (CTCM) for the Intercept Blood System for platelets, the company said.
CTCM provides blood and blood components to all hospitals in Madrid, and manages approximately 250,000 blood donations allowing for the distribution of 45,000 units of platelets annually.
The Intercept Blood System leverages the fact that blood components do not require functional DNA or RNA, as opposed to pathogens and donor white blood cells.
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 is focused on blood transfusion safety. The Intercept Blood System reduces 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.
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.