Cerus Corporation (Nasdaq: CERS) today announced that it has been awarded an additional $6.2 million cooperative agreement by the Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity division of the Department of Defense (DOD). Cerus received the award, its third from the DOD, for continued development of technologies to improve the safety and availability of blood that may be used by the Armed Forces of the United States for medical transfusions.
Under the agreement, Cerus, in collaboration with outside laboratories, will conduct research on inactivation of infectious blood-borne agents, which may present heightened risk in military settings, including unusual pathogens identified as emerging or rare contaminants in the blood supply. The agreement specifically details inactivation work on the pathogens responsible for anthrax, and the virus used for vaccination against smallpox, as well as West Nile virus and other pathogens for which no routine testing is performed before blood transfusion. This, as well as other initiatives under the cooperative agreement, will further the development of the company's system for inactivating pathogens in platelets, plasma and red blood cells.
"We are very pleased to receive the support of the U.S. Armed Forces for continued research to improve the safety and availability of blood for the military,” said Stephen T. Isaacs, president and chief executive officer of Cerus. “The programs are directed toward blood and blood components intended for transfusion, including platelets, plasma and red blood cells.”
Mr. Isaacs continued, “We appreciate the leadership of Congressmen Jerry Lewis, George Miller and Mark Kirk for recognizing the importance of this public health issue and addressing the need to support research in blood safety.”
With this $6.2 million award, Cerus has now received a total of $16.2 million in funding for projects initiated under a 2001 agreement with the Department of Defense. In addition to supporting the development of the pathogen inactivation systems this funding will be shared with outside laboratories collaborating with Cerus to investigate additional innovative ways to improve the availability of blood and blood components, including more convenient storage conditions with development of freeze-dried plasma and red blood cells.
ABOUT CERUS
Cerus Corporation is 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, which is being developed in collaboration with subsidiaries of Baxter International Inc. is based on the company's Helinx technology. The Intercept Blood System 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 and INTERCEPT Blood are trademarks of Baxter International Inc.
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