Richard J. Benjamin, MD PhD Appointed as Cerus Corporation’s New Chief Medical Officer

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) announced today that Richard J. Benjamin, MD PhD has been appointed as chief medical officer of Cerus, effective July 13, 2015. Dr. Benjamin joins Cerus from the American Red Cross where, as the chief medical officer, he oversaw the organization’s donor and patient safety issues related to blood collection and transfusion.

“We have been privileged to have Dr. Laurence Corash serving as both our chief medical officer and chief scientific officer since his co-founding of the company. Today, we enhance an already formidable scientific and medical team at Cerus with the addition of Dr. Benjamin, one of the world’s foremost experts on blood safety,” said William 'Obi' Greenman, president and chief executive officer of Cerus. “There is no one more capable than Dr. Benjamin to lead Cerus’ clinical research and medical affairs as we pursue commercialization of the INTERCEPT platelet and plasma systems in the United States and take steps to advance the INTERCEPT red blood cell system beyond clinical development.”

“The focus of my career has been to ensure the safety of both blood donors and patients who require blood transfusions. As we look to the future of blood safety and the needs of patients worldwide, it is imperative that we take the most innovative path toward securing the U.S. blood supply against new pathogens,” Benjamin said. “I believe pathogen reduction is critical in this new era and in my new position, I look forward to assisting hospitals and blood banks in taking a proactive approach to reducing the risk of transfusion transmitted infections through adoption of the world’s leading pathogen reduction system.”

The appointment of Dr. Benjamin, following the recent approval by the FDA of Cerus’ INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma, underscores Cerus' mission to help protect the safety of the blood supply in the United States and globally, especially as several emerging blood-borne pathogens such as Chikungunya and dengue have become more prevalent.

Cerus’ INTERCEPT 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 system has been approved for over a decade in Europe for treatment of platelets and plasma, and is used by over 100 blood centers in Europe, the Commonweath of Independent States and the Middle East.

Benjamin served as Chief Medical Officer of the American Red Cross since 2006. He is a board member and regional director for North America for the International Society of Blood Transfusion, as well as an active member of the AABB. He is an adjunct associate professor of pathology at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and has served on the US Department of Health and Human Service's Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability.

Prior to joining the Red Cross, Dr. Benjamin was a medical director at the Adult Transfusion Service at the Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine at Harvard University. He received his PhD in immunology from Cambridge University in England, and completed his post-doctoral research at Stanford University. Dr. Benjamin's medical degree is from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Dr. Benjamin is well-versed in the INTERCEPT technology, having previously served as an investigator in US Phase III studies for INTERCEPT platelets, plasma and red blood cells. Recently he has been a sub-investigator on Cerus’ Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) study for treatment of convalescent plasma collected from Ebola disease survivors for passive immune therapy within the United States.

Laurence M. Corash, MD, will continue to serve as Cerus' chief scientific officer as well as corporate director, focusing on continued advocacy for the role of pathogen reduction within international health care policy, supporting the expanding adoption of the INTERCEPT blood systems, and exploring new applications for the technology.

ABOUT CERUS

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused in the field of blood 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.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150608005629/en/