Cerus, BARDA Enter Funding Agreement

Cerus has entered into an agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under which BARDA will potentially provide up to $180.51 million in funding to back the advancement of Cerus’ INTERCEPT red blood cell program.

Under the five-year agreement, BARDA will initially provide $30.75 million to fund clinical trial activities to evaluate the safety and efficacy of INTERCEPT red blood cell components compared to conventional RBCs in Puerto Rico, an area of Zika virus risk. Additionally, the funding will go toward in vitro studies to support Phase 3 clinical trials.

The company nabbed FDA approvals for the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma in December 2014. — Anisa Jibrell