Kedrion Biopharma, the Italian plasma-derived products company, and Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS), will be reconfirming the partnership established last November – for the distribution in Italy of INTERCEPT Blood System® products for the viral inactivation of plasma and platelets – by jointly attending the 43rd National Conference of Blood Transfusion Studies organised by SIMTI (Italian Society for Blood Transfusion and Hematology) in Genoa from 23 to 25 May.
On Thursday 24 May, Kedrion and Cerus sponsored the workshop “The inactivation of pathogenic agents, an answer to the growing need for safety”, moderated by Giuseppe Aprili and Vanda Randi, and featuring presentations by Prof. Luca Pierelli, blood transfusionist at the San Camillo Forlanini Hospital in Rome and a leading expert on viral inactivation, who discussed topics including how his hospital dealt with the 2017 Chikungunya emergency; by Prof. Laura Infanti, a University of Basel-based hematologist, who illustrated Switzerland’s approach to ensuring blood component and patient safety; and by Prof. Chiara Azzari, Immunologist and Head of the Anna Meyer Hospital’s Paediatric Immunology Centre, in Florence, who focused on the importance of inactivating platelets in the treatment of immunocompromised paediatric patients.
“Cerus’ INTERCEPT Blood System® complements our product portfolio – states Danilo Medica, Kedrion Biopharma Italy Country Manager – putting our company in a position to meet the demand for blood component pathogen inactivation systems, and underlining our closeness to the Italian Blood System”, going on to add that “It is an opportunity for Italy, which we hope the System as a whole will take up, as several Regions are already doing”.
“We are excited to partner with Kedrion to drive awareness of INTERCEPT at the SIMTI Annual Meeting,” said Christian Boutemy, Senior Director of EMEA Sales for Cerus. “Our Mission is to increase global access to safer blood components through accelerated adoption of pathogen reduction technology. We are honored to work with Kedrion to ensure that Italian patients receive the very best clinical care also by expanding access to INTERCEPT treated blood products.”
Under the terms of the agreement signed in November 2017, Kedrion Biopharma is the sole distributor for INTERCEPT Blood System® products in Italy.
INTERCEPT and INTERCEPT Blood System are registered Cerus Corporation trademarks.
