Cerus Announces Approval for the INTERCEPT Blood System from Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) has announced the Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária’s approval of the company’s INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma.
According to the press release:

The approval marks the first time that a system to inactivate pathogens in platelet and plasma components will be available in Brazil.
“With serious outbreaks of viruses such as dengue, zika, and chikungunya becoming more common in Brazil, transmission of pathogens via blood transfusion remains an ongoing threat,” commented Carol Moore, SVP, Regulatory Affairs and Quality at Cerus. “This significant approval by ANVISA represents an important step toward bringing the INTERCEPT Blood System to Brazilian blood centers as a way to proactively combat against transfusion-transmitted infections.”
Brazil represents the largest transfusion market in Latin America. Over 3.7 million whole blood and apheresis units are collected annually in public and private collection centers, generating approximately 800,000 plasma and cryoprecipitate products and 160,000 pooled random donor and apheresis platelet products for transfusion.

Click here to read the full press release.