Cerus Corporation Receives Additional $6.2 Million Award in Ongoing Collaboration with the U.S. Armed Forces.Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2003 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 (1) (Dial On Demand) A feature that allows a device to automatically dial a telephone number. For example, an ISDN router with dial on demand will automatically dial up the ISP when it senses IP traffic destined for the Internet. ). 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 A term used to denote collectively all components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. See also United States Armed Forces. for medical transfusions. Under the agreement, Cerus, in collaboration with outside laboratories, will conduct research on inactivation inactivation /in·ac·ti·va·tion/ (in-ak?ti-va´shun) the destruction of biological activity, as of a virus, by the action of heat or other agent. 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 anthrax (ăn`thrăks), acute infectious disease of animals that can be secondarily transmitted to humans. It is caused by a bacterium (Bacillus anthracis , and the virus used for vaccination against smallpox, as well as West Nile virus West Nile virus, microorganism and the infection resulting from it, which typically produces no symptoms or a flulike condition. The virus is a flavivirus and is related to a number of viruses that cause encephalitis. and other pathogens for which no routine testing is performed before blood transfusion blood transfusion, transfer of blood from one person to another, or from one animal to another of the same species. Transfusions are performed to replace a substantial loss of blood and as supportive treatment in certain diseases and blood disorders. . 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 Red blood cells Cells that carry hemoglobin (the molecule that transports oxygen) and help remove wastes from tissues throughout the body. Mentioned in: Bone Marrow Transplantation 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 (R)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 in·ac·ti·vate v. 1. To render nonfunctional. 2. To make quiescent. in·ac  ti·va viruses, bacteria, other pathogens and white blood cells White blood cellsA group of several cell types that occur in the bloodstream and are essential for a properly functioning immune system. Mentioned in: Abscess Incision & Drainage, Bone Marrow Transplantation, Complement Deficiencies . The Concord, California-based company also is pursuing therapeutic applications of Helinx technology to treat and prevent serious diseases. Note to Editors: Helinx is a trademark of Cerus Corporation INTERCEPT and INTERCEPT Blood are trademarks of Baxter International Inc. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion