Cerus Surges As FDA Approves INTERCEPT Blood System For Platelets

(RTTNews) - Cerus Corp. (CERS) said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets.

The INTERCEPT platelet system is approved for ex vivo preparation of pathogen-reduced apheresis platelet components in order to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted infection, including sepsis, and to potentially reduce the risk of transfusion-associated graft versus host disease.

The approval marks the first time that a system to inactivate pathogens in platelet components will be available in the U.S. The FDA approved the INTERCEPT Blood System for plasma on December 16.

The INTERCEPT systems for both plasma and platelets use the same illumination device, the same active compound (amotosalen) and very similar production steps.

CERS ended up 5.1 percent at $6.16 on Thursday, and climbed 16.9 percent in the extended trade.