Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

CONCORD, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--April 11, 2002

Cerus Corporation (Nasdaq:CERS) today announced the appointment of William R. Rohn, president and chief operating officer of IDEC Pharmaceuticals, to its board of directors. Rohn, a 35-year veteran of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, will fill a board position formerly held by Peter H. McNerney, who retired from the company's board in December 2001.

"Bill is a superb addition to our board," said Stephen T. Isaacs, president and chief executive officer of Cerus. "His experience in leading Idec's transition from research and development to commercialization will be tremendously valuable to us as Cerus undertakes the same transition with the INTERCEPT Blood Systems."

Isaacs added, "I'd also like to acknowledge Pete McNerney, who served on our board since 1992. We sincerely appreciate his many contributions and years of service."

Rohn, 58, is president and chief operating officer of IDEC Pharmaceuticals, a leading biotechnology company focused on treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. He joined IDEC in 1993 and under his leadership the company grew from a research organization to a significant biopharmaceutical company, which discovered and developed Rituxan(R), the first monoclonal antibody approved by the FDA for the treatment of cancer. Sales of Rituxan reached $779 million in the United States last year.

Prior to IDEC, Rohn was senior vice president of Sales and Marketing at Adria Laboratories (now part of Pharmacia Corp.) and held marketing, sales and management positions at Abbott Laboratories, Miles Laboratories and Bristol-Myers Squibb. He currently serves on the board of directors of Pharmacyclics. Rohn received a B.A. in Marketing from Michigan State University.

About Cerus

Cerus Corporation is developing medical systems and therapeutics based on its proprietary Helinx(R) technology for controlling biological replication. Cerus' most advanced programs are focused on systems to enhance the safety of blood products used for transfusion. The INTERCEPT Blood Systems, based on the company's Helinx technology, are designed to inactivate viruses, bacteria, other pathogens and white blood cells. The Concord, California-based company also is pursuing therapeutic applications of Helinx technology to treat and prevent serious diseases.

Statements in this news release regarding commercialization are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from the above forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks and uncertainty of the timing and results of clinical trials and other development and commercialization activities, actions by regulatory authorities at any stage of the development process, additional financing activities, manufacturing, market acceptance of any products, competitive conditions and other factors discussed in the company's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cerus does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

Note to Editors: Helinx is a trademark of Cerus Corporation. INTERCEPT is a trademark of Baxter International Inc.