Comércio Exportação e Importação de Materiais Médicos LTDA (CEI), a Cerus business partner, is awarded a three-year contract with the HemoMinas Foundation of Brazil for the INTERCEPTTM Blood System for platelets.
HemoMinas provides services and blood products in the state of Minas Gerais, and the Hemocentro of Belo Horizonte – the largest blood service of HemoMinas – distributes approximately 25,000 platelet doses to hospitals annually.
“The introduction of pathogen reduced blood components is an important part of our blood safety strategy in Minas Gerais,” said Dr. Maísa Aparecida Ribeiro, medical director at HemoMinas. “INTERCEPT will provide a new foundational strategy for blood safety to protect patients from endemic pathogens, such as Zika virus, Dengue, and Chikungunya virus, and is a timely and forward-looking step as we prepare for the inevitable next emerging pathogen.”
The INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma is the only pathogen reduction system to receive approval from the Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) for commercial use in Brazil. Over 3.7 million whole blood and apheresis blood components are collected annually in Brazil.
