Cerus

What Cerus does

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) is a publicly traded biomedical products company founded in 1991 and headquartered in Concord, California, with European operations based in Amersfoort, Netherlands. The company develops and commercializes the INTERCEPT Blood System, a pathogen reduction platform that uses proprietary amotosalen (a psoralen-based compound) plus UVA illumination to inactivate viruses, bacteria, parasites, and residual leukocytes in platelets and plasma by crosslinking pathogen nucleic acids. INTERCEPT is the only pathogen reduction system with both CE mark and FDA approval for platelets and plasma, and the company has additionally secured FDA approval for the INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex (IFC) produced via INTERCEPT Cryoprecipitation, used in the treatment of massive hemorrhage. The platform is anchored on the next-generation INT200 LED illumination device (CE-marked March 2025) and is being extended to red blood cells via the RedeS/RETIS Phase 3 program and to lyophilized IFC (LyoIFC) for trauma care.

Cerus generates revenue primarily through recurring sales of single-use disposable pathogen reduction kits sold to blood centers, hospitals, and national blood services, paired with capital equipment (illuminators). FY2025 total revenue was $233.8 million (up 16% YoY) and product revenue was $206.1 million (up 14% YoY), with FY2026 product revenue guidance of $227-231 million and Q1 2026 product revenue up 24% YoY. The company has secured multi-year supply agreements and group purchasing contracts that anchor distribution — most notably with American Red Cross, Blood Centers of America (~50% of U.S. blood supply), and Établissement Français du Sang (~330,000 platelet units/year across France) — and operates a direct enterprise sales motion supported by two regional hubs. Non-dilutive capital has been a meaningful financing layer: a $248 million BARDA contract (2024) supports the INTERCEPT Red Blood Cell program and ~$25.2 million in cumulative DoD funding supports LyoIFC development.

Cerus has been operationally profitable on a non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA basis for eight consecutive quarters (Q2 2024 through Q1 2026), with FY2025 non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $9.5 million and GAAP net loss narrowing to $15.6 million. The company is in the midst of a planned leadership transition, with COO Vivek K. Jayaraman announced to succeed William "Obi" Greenman as President and CEO effective July 1, 2026, and Greenman moving to Executive Chairman. As of June 2026, Cerus had a market capitalization of approximately $542 million (stock price $2.59, +89% over the prior year) and had recently refinanced its capital structure with a new up-to-$110 million debt facility from MidCap Financial.

Name

Cerus

Legal name

Cerus Corporation

Website

https://cerus.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) is a publicly traded biomedical products company that develops and commercializes the INTERCEPT Blood System — the only pathogen reduction platform with both CE mark and FDA approval for platelets and plasma — selling single-use consumable kits and illumination devices to blood centers, hospitals, and national blood services in approximately 40 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blood Safety / Pathogen Reduction Systems

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991), Medical Laboratories (621511)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Blood Bank, Transfusion Medicine & Immunohematology (HLAHAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Plasma-Derived & Blood Products Distributors (HLAIAJAJ)

Keywords

• Pathogen reduction systems
• Blood component safety
• Transfusion medicine devices
• Blood center consumables
• Biomedical blood products

Headquarters

HQ city

Concord

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. INTERCEPT Blood System consumable kits: Recurring consumable revenue from sale of single-use disposable pathogen reduction kits (processing sets, amotosalen, storage containers) used to treat platelet and plasma components at blood centers. Described as the core financial driver with growing demand; FY2025 product revenue of $206.1M was 14% growth, with Q1 2026 product revenue up 24% YoY to $53.7M.
2. Illumination / processing devices (capital equipment): One-time and replacement sales of INTERCEPT illuminators (legacy devices and the next-generation INT200 LED illuminator) installed at blood centers and hospitals as the capital equipment base that consumes the recurring kits.
3. INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex (IFC) kits: Sale of IFC kits to US blood centers producing Pathogen Reduced Cryoprecipitated Fibrinogen Complex; FY2025 IFC revenue ~$16.7M (up ~80% YoY) and Q1 2026 IFC volume growth of ~120% YoY. FY2026 IFC guidance $22–24M (later revised upward).
4. Government / BARDA and DoD contract revenue: Non-dilutive funding from US Department of Defense (~$25.2M cumulative for LyoIFC) and BARDA ($248M RBC contract in 2024) supporting R&D and clinical development of pathogen reduction programs including LyoIFC and INTERCEPT RBC.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cerus Corporation develops, manufactures, and commercializes the INTERCEPT Blood System, a proprietary pathogen reduction platform that uses amotosalen (a psoralen compound) plus UVA illumination to inactivate viruses, bacteria, parasites, and residual leukocytes in donated platelets and plasma. The company sells single-use disposable pathogen reduction kits together with capital illumination devices to blood centers, hospitals, and national blood services, and also produces INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex (IFC) for massive hemorrhage treatment.

Product overview

Cerus offers a single integrated pathogen reduction platform — the INTERCEPT Blood System — built around amotosalen-based photochemical treatment with UVA illumination. The platform spans multiple blood component applications: the FDA- and CE-marked INTERCEPT Blood System for Platelets, the FDA- and CE-marked INTERCEPT Blood System for Plasma, and the U.S.-approved INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex (IFC) produced via INTERCEPT Cryoprecipitation. The next-generation INT200 LED-based illumination device is the hardware backbone for processing across components. The company is also developing the INTERCEPT Red Blood Cell System (under CE Mark review in Europe and Phase 3 RedeS study in the U.S.) and a lyophilized IFC (LyoIFC) for trauma hemorrhage care, expanding the platform beyond platelets and plasma into a comprehensive blood-component safety portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• INTERCEPT Blood System: Cerus' flagship pathogen reduction system for platelets and plasma; the only pathogen reduction system with both CE mark and FDA approval for these two blood components.
• INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex (IFC)
• INT200

Products and services

• INTERCEPT Blood System for Platelets A pathogen reduction system for platelet components that uses amotosalen and UVA light to inactivate viruses, bacteria, parasites, and residual white blood cells in donated platelets. The only pathogen reduction system with both CE mark and FDA approval for platelets. Sold to blood centers, hospitals, and national blood services as single-use disposable kits processed on INTERCEPT illuminators.
• INTERCEPT Blood System for Plasma A pathogen reduction system for plasma components that uses amotosalen and UVA light to inactivate a broad spectrum of pathogens. The only pathogen reduction system with both CE mark and FDA approval for plasma. Sold to blood centers, hospitals, and national blood services.
• INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex (IFC) FDA-approved Pathogen Reduced Cryoprecipitated Fibrinogen Complex therapeutic product for the treatment and control of bleeding, including massive hemorrhage, associated with fibrinogen deficiency. Produced by U.S. blood centers using the INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation.
• INT200 Illumination Device Next-generation LED-based illumination device for the INTERCEPT Blood System that replaces older illuminators. Serves as the foundational hardware platform for processing INTERCEPT-treated platelet and plasma kits. U.S. FDA PMA submission targeted for mid-2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• FY2025 total revenue $233.8M, up 16% YoY; product revenue $206.1M, up 14% YoY.
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Établissement Français du Sang (EFS)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 27 April 2026New four-year supply agreement (April 2026) covering INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma plus the next-generation INT200 illumination device. EFS distributes ~330,000 platelet units/year across 13 regional centers in continental France and overseas territories (La Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique). INTERCEPT has been used in France since 2006 with nationwide rollout in 2017.
• German Red Cross Blood Donation Service Baden-Württemberg – Hessen (with subsidiary DRK Blood Donation Service North-East)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2026Collaboration on the INITIATE study (started January 2026) — the first prospective multicenter non-interventional safety study evaluating INTERCEPT-treated pathogen-inactivated platelet concentrates in routine clinical practice in Germany. DRK is the sponsor; the study aims to confirm safety profile and feasibility of system-wide adoption in the German healthcare system.
• Blood Centers of America (BCA)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 10 December 2025Group purchasing agreement (December 2025) expanding access to INTERCEPT pathogen reduction technology across 60+ US blood centers representing approximately 50% of the U.S. blood supply. Includes collaborative training and resource sharing.
• European Notified Body (EU MDR)coreOthers · 9 March 2025Regulatory partnership — receipt of CE Mark for the next-generation INT200 illumination device under EU Medical Device Regulation (March 2025), completing authorization of the INTERCEPT Blood System for both platelets and plasma within the EU MDR framework and enabling commercial distribution across the EU and CE-mark-recognizing regions.
• Porex (Porex Technologies)minorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 8 December 2024Extended supply agreement (December 2024) covering proprietary components used in Cerus' INTERCEPT disposable kits. Supports continuity of consumable kit supply for INTERCEPT-treated platelets and plasma.
• BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, U.S. HHS)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024$248 million contract awarded (October 2024) to support development of Cerus' INTERCEPT Red Blood Cell program in the United States. Funding supports advancement of the RBC pathogen reduction system through clinical and regulatory milestones, complementing the RedeS/RETIS Phase 3 program.
• American Red CrossflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLargest provider of platelets in the U.S.; publicly committed to a complete pathogen-reduced platelet inventory using INTERCEPT ahead of the FDA bacterial contamination guidance deadline. American Red Cross leadership publicly endorsed pathogen reduction as the standard of care.
• Susan Stramer, Ph.D. (American Red Cross VP Scientific Affairs)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFeatured expert on Cerus' Sepsis Webinar Series and in co-branded podcast 'Preparing Our Blood Supply for the Next Pandemic', jointly advancing the case for proactive pathogen reduction in the U.S. blood supply.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Immucor: Immucor specializes in transfusion and transplantation diagnostics (blood typing, antigen detection) and sells into many of the same hospital blood banks as Cerus, providing adjacent — rather than directly competing — tools used alongside pathogen-reduced components.

Others

• Revvity: Revvity (formerly PerkinElmer Life Sciences) supplies donor screening reagents, blood bank quality controls, and molecular diagnostics used in blood safety workflows. It is an ecosystem participant and adjacent technology supplier rather than a direct competitor to Cerus' pathogen reduction consumables.

Direct peers

• Terumo BCT: Terumo's blood component technologies division develops the Mirasol Pathogen Reduction Technology system for platelets and plasma, the most directly comparable competing pathogen reduction platform to Cerus' INTERCEPT. Both target nucleic-acid-based pathogen inactivation in blood centers under regulated healthcare sales motions.
• MacoPharma: MacoPharma markets the THERAFLEX UV-Platelet and THERAFLEX MB-Plasma pathogen reduction systems, competing with INTERCEPT at blood centers in Europe and other regulated markets. Both companies sell consumable kits paired with illumination/processing devices into national blood services via multi-year supply contracts.

Broad incumbents

• Grifols: Grifols is a global blood products and transfusion medicine company (plasma fractionation, blood typing reagents, donor screening via Procleix) that operates broadly across the same blood safety value chain as Cerus, including nucleic-acid-testing blood screening assays that historically competed with the pathogen reduction concept.
• Baxter International: Baxter is a broad incumbent in hospital products and transfusion medicine (IV solutions, blood storage/banking devices) and was previously a major employer of Cerus executives; it overlaps with Cerus as a hospital blood-bank supplier though it does not directly compete in pathogen reduction chemistry.
• Haemonetics Corporation: Haemonetics is a broad incumbent in transfusion medicine and blood center software/hardware (apheresis devices, platelet collection, donor management software), serving many of the same blood center customers as Cerus. While Haemonetics does not directly compete in pathogen reduction chemistry, it is a multi-product platform customer alternative for blood centers.
• Fresenius Kabi: Fresenius Kabi is a large medical device and transfusion medicine supplier (apheresis platforms, IV solutions, blood bank devices) that overlaps with Cerus in selling into hospital blood banks and blood centers; Dean Gregory, formerly President of Global Commercial Operations at Fresenius Kabi, recently joined Cerus' board.
• Hologic: Hologic provides the Panther system and blood screening assays (e.g., via Grifols/Procleix partnerships and its own molecular diagnostics) that historically competed with Cerus on the alternative donor-screening paradigm for blood safety — a complementary/competing approach to INTERCEPT's single-procedure inactivation.

Regional players

• Octapharma: Octapharma is one of the world's largest plasma fractionators and produces plasma-derived therapeutics including fibrinogen concentrates (relevant to IFC's hemorrhage indication). It is a regional/global participant in downstream blood product markets where INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex competes for share in massive hemorrhage treatment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cerus-industrial

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cerus