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Cerus and The Community Blood Center Enter into Agreement for the Use of INTERCEPT Platelets and PlasmaCerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) announced today that The Community Blood Center (CBC) has signed a purchase agreement for the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma, becoming the first blood center in Wisconsin to commit to implementation of pathogen reduction technology. CBC delivers blood components to 17 hospitals in the state of Wisconsin and one in the state of Michigan, distributing approximately 13,500 platelet and 11,500 plasma units annually. "Providing safe and reliable blood components to the hospitals and patients in our community is of top priority for us," said John Hagins, CBC's President and Chief Executive Officer. "INTERCEPT will allow us to take a proactive approach against transfusion-transmitted infections, making a partnership with Cerus an obvious choice." "The blood components provided by CBC are vital to the community hospitals they serve," commented William "Obi" Greenman, Cerus' President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are pleased that they have chosen to implement the INTERCEPT Blood System to ensure that the platelet and plasma components reaching their patients are of the highest safety standard available." ABOUT THE COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER The Community Blood Center provides 100% of the bloo used by patients in 18 hospitals in Wisconsin and Michigan, with neighborhood donor centers in Appleton, Oshkosh, Little Chute, and Woodruff. Last year, volunteer donors gave more than 50,000 blood donations with the CBC. The non-profit blood center has been committed to providing a safe, reliable blood supply for hospital patients since 1955. CBC is a member of America's Blood Centers, North America's largest network of community-based, independent blood centers, providing more than 50% of the nation's blood supply. See www.communityblood.org for more information. 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 the INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.
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