Cerus Corp. said May 16 that it secured an additional $15 million under its contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The contract involves Cerus' development of Intercept, a system to increase the safety and reliability of blood transfusions. The system reduces the risk of transmitted infections, and is compatible with existing blood donation standards and equipment.
The total potential value of the amended contract is now $201 million. The Concord, Calif.-based company has allocated $103 million to fund clinical development activities.
The company aims to establish Intercept as the standard of care for all transfused blood components globally, Cerus Chief Medical Officer Richard Benjamin said. He added that the funding will help the company complete clinical development, regulatory submission and commercial scale-up of activities related to Intercept.
