Dr. Corash's appointment follows the planned transition of John Hearst, Ph.D., D.Sc. from the board. Dr. Hearst will maintain an active role in the company in his continued position as vice president of New Science Opportunities.

“Larry's strategic insights from his years of experience working within the medical community are of great value as commercialization of the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets gets underway in Europe”, said Stephen T. Isaacs, president and chief executive officer of Cerus. “It is also important to recognize John Hearst for his dedicated service to our board, and years of significant contributions to the company.”

Dr. Corash, 58, co-founder of Cerus, has held the position of chief medical officer and vice president, Clinical Research and Medical Affairs, since 1997. Dr. Corash has been a professor of laboratory medicine at the University of California, San Francisco since 1985, and was formerly chief of the hematology laboratory for the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. Prior to that, he was a staff physician for eight years at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he also acted as the assistant chief of the Clinical Laboratory Hematology Service. He has co-authored more than 140 articles, many of which discuss pathogen inactivation to improve the safety of blood. He is a member of the International Society for Blood Transfusion and the American Society of Hematology, and has served as a consultant to the FDA Advisory Panel for Hematology Devices since 1990. Dr. Corash earned his bachelor's degree in history with honors from Dartmouth College, and his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine.

Dr. Hearst, 67, also a co-founder of Cerus, served as a member of the board of directors since September 1991. His current position at Cerus is that of vice president, New Science Opportunities, a position he has held since 1996. From 1962 to 1996, Dr. Hearst was a professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley where he mentored several future Cerus scientists, including president and CEO, Stephen Isaacs. As an emeritus professor, he retains the position of senior staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Dr. Hearst earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering with highest honors from Yale University and his doctor of philosophy degree from the California Institute of Technology in Chemistry and Physics.

ABOUT CERUS

Cerus Corporation is building on its leading position in the biopharmaceutical industry by developing medical systems and therapeutics to provide safer and more effective options to patients. The company is developing products based on its proprietary Helinx® technology for controlling biological replication. Cerus' most advanced programs are focused on systems to enhance the safety of the world's blood supply. The INTERCEPT Blood System, based on the company's Helinx technology, is 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.

Helinx is a trademark of Cerus Corporation

INTERCEPT Blood System is a trademark of Baxter International, Inc.