Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Kedrion Biopharma to distribute the full complement of INTERCEPT Blood System products in Italy. Kedrion Biopharma will initially distribute INTERCEPT for platelets and plasma and will have the right to distribute INTERCEPT red blood cells following CE mark approval.
Under the terms of the agreement, Kedrion Biopharma will be the sole distributor for the INTERCEPT Blood Systems in Italy and will be responsible for promotion, sales, deployment, and red cell introduction for INTERCEPT in the future.
“We are pleased to be working with Kedrion,” said Gualtiero Garlasco, general manager of Cerus Europe B.V. “Kedrion has significant experience in the plasma derivatives business and understands the dynamics of the Italian transfusion medicine market. We believe Kedrion is the right partner for us as we seek to increase our market presence in Southern Europe given their industry expertise, commercial reach, and strong relationships with blood centers and hospitals in Italy.”
Cerus estimates the Italian transfusion market at approximately 200,000 units for platelets, 400,000 units for plasma, and 2,500,000 units for red blood cells.
“Cerus’ INTERCEPT Blood Systems’ platform complements our current product portfolio and we believe the market opportunity for pathogen inactivation of transfused blood components in Italy is significant. We look forward to working with Cerus to help make INTERCEPT the standard of care in Italy for improving the safety of transfusion medicine and are excited to be collaborating on the potential introduction of the INTERCEPT red cell system,” commented Danilo Medica, Italy Country Manager of Kedrion Biopharma.
INTERCEPT Blood Systems is designed to reduce the transfusion-transmitted infection risk by inactivating a broad range of pathogens including chikungunya. Clusters of chikungunya have been reported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) including the recent outbreak in the Lazio region of Italy which resulted in a temporary halt of blood donations in Rome. Chikungunya is often spread by the bite of Aedes mosquito. Chikungunya outbreaks in Europe have been previously reported in Italy (2007) and France (2010, 2014, and 2017).
ABOUT KEDRION BIOPHARMA
Kedrion Biopharma is an international company that collects and fractionates blood plasma to produce and distribute plasma-derived therapeutic products for use in treating and preventing serious diseases, disorders and conditions such as hemophilia, primary immune system deficiencies and Rh-sensitization.
With over 2,300 employees and a commercial presence in around 100 countries worldwide, Kedrion works to maintain excellent industry standards and aspires to ongoing improvement in order to retain a leading position in Italy and to increase its share of the international markets. The company works to strengthen its role as the accredited partner of medical, scientific and institutional communities, and its ambition is to enhance its worldwide role as a strategic partner of the national health systems of countries, aiming to become self-sufficient in providing plasma-derived products, also via technology transfer.
Additional information about Kedrion Biopharma can be found at kedrion.com.
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 http://www.cerus.com for information about Cerus.
INTERCEPT and the INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements concerning potential CE Mark approval and commercialization of the INTERCEPT Blood System for red blood cells. These forward-looking statements are based upon Cerus’ current expectations. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, without limitation, risk that Cerus may be unable to file for CE Mark approval of the red blood cell system in Europe in the anticipated timeframe or at all, and even if filed, Cerus may be unable to obtain CE Mark approval, or any other regulatory approvals, of the red blood cell system in a timely manner or at all; as well as other risks detailed in Cerus’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Cerus’ Annual Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, filed with the SEC on August 4, 2017. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Cerus disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
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