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Cerus and Shepeard Community Blood Center Enter into Agreement for the Use of INTERCEPT Platelets and PlasmaCerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) announced today that Shepeard Community Blood Center (Shepeard) has signed a purchase agreement for the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma. Shepeard serves 20 hospitals in and around Augusta (News - Alert), Georgia, distributing approximately 4,500 platelet and 12,000 plasma units annually. "Not only will INTERCEPT processing offer us peace of mind that we are providing blood components of the highest safety standard, it offers Shepeard the opportunity to streamline our supply logistics," said Kevin Belanger, Shepeard's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Incorporating INTERCEPT processing into our in-house lab will revolutionize our operations and allow us the potential to release platelet units to our community hospitals with a much quicker turn around. INTERCEPT processing will also eliminate the need for certain time consuming procedures, such as bacterial testing." "With a five-day shelf life for platelets constraining their current supply chain, the opportunity for Shepeard to deliver platelet units to their hospitals one day earlier is quite meaningful. It will allow patients to receive a fresher product and allow hospitals to reduce wastage," commented William "Obi" Greenman, Cerus' President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to implementing the INTERCEPT Blood System into Shepeard's blod center operations." ABOUT SHEPEARD COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER Headquartered in Augusta, Ga., the award-winning Shepeard Community Blood Center serves the blood needs of the Central Savannah River area. The nonprofit organization collects approximately 40,000 units of blood annually at its two Georgia donor centers (Augusta and Evans) and a third in Aiken, South Carolina. It is contracted to distribute blood and blood products to 20 hospitals in the greater Augusta area. Shepeard 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.shepeardblood.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 information about Cerus. INTERCEPT and the INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.
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