Cerus Corporation Announces Group Purchasing Agreement with Blood Centers of America, Expanding Access to Pathogen Reduction Technologies
CONCORD Calif Cerus Corporation announced that it has finalized a new group purchasing agreement with Blood Centers of America the largest blood supply cooperative in the United States. This significant partnership will make Cerus’ full INTERCEPT® Blood System product portfolio accessible to BCA’s nationwide network of community blood centers, strengthening efforts to expand the use of pathogen reduction technologies across the country.
BCA member organizations collectively produce roughly half of the nation’s platelets and cryoprecipitate, making the cooperative an essential component of the U.S. blood supply chain. With more than 60 independent community blood centers under its umbrella, BCA plays a pivotal role in supporting blood safety and ensuring a stable, high-quality supply of lifesaving blood components for hospitals nationwide. The new agreement positions Cerus as a strategic partner in advancing BCA’s mission to increase availability of innovative blood safety technologies that can help improve patient outcomes and reduce transfusion-transmitted risks.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cerus’ complete INTERCEPT product line including platelet, plasma, and INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex (IFC)—will be covered. IFC, also known as pathogen-reduced cryoprecipitated fibrinogen complex, is engineered to support rapid fibrinogen replacement and is increasingly recognized as an important component of modern blood safety and trauma care protocols. By integrating IFC and the broader INTERCEPT portfolio into BCA’s contracted offerings, the organizations intend to streamline access, enhance supply chain coordination, and accelerate adoption of pathogen-reduced blood products across the cooperative’s member network.
Vivek Jayaraman, Cerus’ chief operating officer, expressed strong enthusiasm about the new collaboration. “We are excited to partner with BCA and the 60+ independent community blood centers they represent,” Jayaraman said. “This agreement demonstrates our shared commitment to drive innovation and expand access to safer blood products. We believe leveraging BCA’s resource-sharing model will enable us to rapidly expand IFC adoption. Furthermore, this agreement provides access to pathogen-reduced platelets for new customers at both the blood center and hospital. I believe this agreement has the potential to be quite positive for BCA, their blood center membership and Cerus.”
Jayaraman highlighted that the resource-sharing infrastructure within BCA creates a unique advantage. Because member centers work cooperatively, products like IFC can be produced, distributed, and utilized more efficiently. As a result, hospitals in diverse geographic regions—including those served by smaller or rural blood centers—may gain more consistent access to pathogen-reduced blood components. Jayaraman underscored that Cerus views IFC as an important tool for addressing unmet clinical needs, including managing acute bleeding situations and supporting trauma care, making broad distribution a critical priority.
BCA’s leadership echoed those sentiments, emphasizing the shared values and complementary missions of the two organizations. Bill Block, president and chief executive officer of Blood Centers of America, noted, “We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Cerus. We have a shared commitment to bringing innovation to the transfusion medicine market and are looking forward to a mutually rewarding partnership. We believe pathogen inactivation is an important technology in blood safety and are pleased to be working with Cerus to expand availability within our membership.”
Block’s comments reinforce BCA’s longstanding interest in adopting and scaling technologies that help reduce risk and improve care quality for patients who rely on transfusions. Pathogen reduction technologies such as INTERCEPT can help protect against known and emerging transfusion-transmissible infections by inactivating a broad spectrum of viruses, bacteria, parasites, and leukocytes in blood components. This provides a safety layer that is particularly valuable in periods of heightened infectious disease concern or supply chain strain—areas where BCA has historically played a key role in national preparedness.
A central component of the new agreement is the transition of ongoing IFC production within BCA member centers to a resource-sharing model. This collaborative structure is intended to simplify production logistics and improve distribution efficiency across the BCA network. By harmonizing manufacturing workflows and pooling resources, member centers can distribute IFC more evenly and deliver products faster to hospitals that need them. It also helps reduce operational barriers for centers that may not have previously had the capacity to produce or stock IFC at scale.
Through this strengthened partnership, Cerus and BCA will jointly implement training, education, and support initiatives to raise awareness about the benefits of pathogen reduction technologies. These efforts may include hands-on training sessions for blood center staff, educational materials for clinicians, and coordinated outreach to hospital systems regarding product features, indications, and operational considerations. Both organizations anticipate that these programs will help accelerate adoption of pathogen-reduced blood components by addressing knowledge gaps, demonstrating clinical value, and ensuring seamless integration into existing workflows.
The collaboration also represents a strategic milestone for Cerus. The company has consistently emphasized its commitment to advancing global blood safety and expanding access to INTERCEPT products. By aligning with BCA—one of the most influential cooperatives in the U.S. blood sector—Cerus gains a powerful channel through which it can broaden its reach and deepen its relationships with both community blood centers and hospital systems. The agreement not only strengthens market access but also reinforces Cerus’ role as a leader in pathogen reduction and transfusion safety innovation.
For BCA, the agreement provides its members with more predictable access to cutting-edge blood safety solutions and strengthens the cooperative’s portfolio of vendor partnerships. The ability to offer pathogen-reduced platelets, plasma, and IFC through an established group purchasing structure helps ensure consistency in pricing, availability, and operational support. This alignment is likely to benefit hospitals and patients across the country by improving both safety and supply reliability.
As the U.S. healthcare landscape continues to emphasize preparedness, resiliency, and innovation, partnerships like the one between Cerus and BCA play a vital role in shaping the future of transfusion medicine. By combining Cerus’ technological expertise with BCA’s expansive production and distribution network, the organizations are well positioned to make pathogen reduction a more widely adopted standard of care.
The newly established agreement marks a meaningful step forward in enhancing the safety and accessibility of blood products nationwide. Both organizations expressed confidence that their collaboration will deliver meaningful value to blood centers, hospitals, and, most importantly, patients who depend on a safe and reliable supply of blood components.
ABOUT CERUS
Cerus Corporation is dedicated solely to safeguarding the world’s blood supply and aims to become the preeminent global blood products company. Headquartered in Concord, California, the company develops and supplies vital technologies and pathogen-protected blood components to blood centers, hospitals, and ultimately patients who rely on safe blood. The INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma is available globally and remains the only pathogen reduction system with both CE mark and FDA approval for these two blood components. In the U.S., the INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation is approved for the production of Pathogen Reduced Cryoprecipitated Fibrinogen Complex (commonly referred to as INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex), a therapeutic product for the treatment and control of bleeding, including massive hemorrhage, associated with fibrinogen deficiency. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is under regulatory review in Europe, and in late-stage clinical development in the U.S.
ABOUT BLOOD CENTERS of AMERICA
Blood Centers of America (BCA) is the largest blood supply network in the U.S., uniquely positioning us to sustain, advocate and mobilize for the nation’s blood supply. Our 60+ independent community blood centers collect and distribute 50% of the nation’s blood supply, delivering reliable service with a profound commitment to the communities we serve. Pairing our deep local knowledge and extensive national network allows us to expand services, resources and cost savings for customers – and make investments in our communities.
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