University Hospital Basel, Switzerland Transfuses First Two COVID-19 Patients With INTERCEPT Treated Coronavirus Convalescent...
April 02 2020 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
Cerus Corporation (Nasdaq: CERS) announced today that the
University Hospital Basel transfused the first two COVID-19
patients with INTERCEPT treated coronavirus convalescent plasma
(CCP). Cerus’ field team supported the INTERCEPT system
implementation which was completed in one week.
The University Hospital Basel and the regional blood transfusion
service of the Swiss Red Cross, Basel initiated one of the first
CCP programs outside of China and are leveraging the INTERCEPT
pathogen-reduction technology to enhance plasma transfusion safety
and enable collections from convalesced donors earlier after their
infection than might otherwise be possible. The INTERCEPT
plasma system has demonstrated effective inactivation of the
SARS-CoV and MERS coronaviruses1,2,3.
“Plasma collected from individuals who have recovered from
coronavirus disease contains antibodies against the virus that may
help fight the infection. Prior experience has shown a benefit from
immune plasma in other viral diseases, such as Argentine
Hemorrhagic Fever, a viral epidemic disease with high mortality; as
well as the earlier epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome
(SARS) 4,5. The preliminary data from China on the use of CCP in
COVID-19 patients is promising,” says Dr. Laurence Corash, Cerus’
chief scientific officer. “The use of INTERCEPT has been shown to
improve the overall safety of plasma by inactivating residual virus
and other infectious pathogens that may be present in donor blood.
A recent publication indicated that neutralizing antibodies to the
Ebola virus were retained after INTERCEPT treatment. As the number
of convalesced or asymptomatic COVID individuals increases, sources
of CCP will become more abundant, which could make this treatment
or prophylactic modality widely available before other
interventional drug therapies and vaccines have been
validated.”
Based on WHO data, plasma collected from recovered COVID-19
patients contains antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2 infectivity
and may improve a patient’s ability to fight COVID-19. A clinical
study evaluating the efficacy of CCP is currently underway in China
and the potential for the therapy is promising. As witnessed in
geographies around the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has burdened
hospitals with a high number of patients with severe respiratory
illnesses. The absence of approved treatments for COVID-19 has led
to urgent worldwide interest in developing CCP programs for
treatment of acutely ill individuals and potential prophylaxis for
high risk individuals exposed to COVID-19.
Cerus has facilitated the generation of pathogen reduced
convalescent plasma for transfusion in other viral diseases, such
as Ebola, for which Cerus provided technology for a multi-site
clinical study in 2015. Cerus, a leader in the field of pathogen
inactivation to improve blood transfusion safety, is supporting
blood centers and national transfusion services across the globe
with the production of CCP, as well as pathogen reduced platelets
and plasma, and has formed a multi-organizational consortium
focused on antibody characterization, plasma processing, and
pre-clinical testing of pathogen inactivated CCP which will allow
blood centers to evaluate the clinical efficacy of well
characterized, pathogen inactivated CCP in acutely ill COVID-19
patients.
ABOUT CONVALESCENT PLASMA:
Passive immunity has been demonstrated effective for treatment
of infections caused by cytomegalovirus (CMV), hepatitis B virus,
rabies, tetanus, varicella, prior SARS viruses, Argentine
Hemorrhagic Fever, and various other illnesses. Convalescent plasma
has been cited as a potential therapy for viral infection dating
back to the 1918 Spanish influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. Since that
time, convalescent plasma as passive immune therapy has been
evaluated in the treatment of: Ebola, SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV),
2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1), Argentine Hemorrhagic Fever, CMV,
Parvovirus B19, and others. Two preliminary clinical series from
China reported that transfusion of COVID-19 convalescent plasma
resulted in improved clinical status for patients requiring
mechanical ventilation6 and significant improvement in clinical
symptoms, blood oxygen saturation, and clearance of SARS-CoV-2
virus7. The transfusions were well tolerated in both studies. Use
of convalescent plasma is supported by a February 2020 WHO report
which states “The cellular infectivity of the isolated viruses
could be completely neutralized by the sera collected from
convalescent patients.” [Source:
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf
]
- Hashem AM, Hassan AM, Tolah AM, Alsaadi MA, Abunada Q,
Damanhouri GA, El-Kafrawy SA, Picard-Maureau M, Azhar EI, Hindawi
SI. Amotosalen and ultraviolet A light efficiently inactivate
MERS-coronavirus in human platelet concentrates. Transfus Med 2019
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/tme.12638)
- Hindawi SI, Hashem AM, Damanhouri GA, El-Kafrawy SA, Tolah AM,
Hassan AM, Azhar EI. Inactivation of Middle East respiratory
syndrome-coronavirus in human plasma using amotosalen and
ultraviolet A light. Transfusion 2018;58: 52-9
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/trf.14422)
- Pinna D, Sampson-Johannes A, Clementi M, Poli G, Rossini S, Lin
L, Vicenzi E. Amotosalen photochemical inactivation of severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus in human platelet concentrates.
Transfus Med 2005;15: 269-76.
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.0958-7578.2005.00588.x)
- Enria, D. A., A. M. Briggiler, et al. (2008). "Treatment of
Argentine hemorrhagic fever." Antiviral
Res 78(1): 132-139.
- Enria, D. A., A. M. Briggiler, et al. (1984). "Importance of
dose of neutralising antibodies in treatment of Argentine
haemorrhagic fever with immune plasma." Lancet 2(8397): 255-256.
- Shen, C., Z. Wang, et al. (2020). "Treatment of 5 Critically
Ill Patients With COVID-19 With Convalescent Plasma." JAMA.
- Duan, K., B. Liu, et al. (2020). "The feasibility of
convalescent plasma therapy in severe COVID-19 patients: a pilot
study." medRxiv.
ABOUT CERUS
Cerus Corporation is dedicated solely to safeguarding the
world’s blood supply and aims to become the preeminent global blood
products company. Based in Concord, California, our employees are
dedicated to deploying and supplying vital technologies and
pathogen-protected blood components for blood centers, hospitals
and ultimately patients who rely on safe blood. With the INTERCEPT
Blood System, we are focused on protecting patients by delivering
the full complement of reliable products and expertise for
transfusion medicine. Cerus develops and markets the INTERCEPT
Blood System, and remains the only company in the blood transfusion
space to earn both CE Mark and FDA approval for pathogen reduction
of both platelet and plasma components. Cerus currently markets and
sells the INTERCEPT Blood System in the United States, Europe, the
Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and selected
countries in other regions around the world. The INTERCEPT Red
Blood Cell system is in clinical development. For more information
about Cerus visit www.cerus.com, and follow us on LinkedIn.
INTERCEPT and the INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus
Corporation.
Forward Looking Statements
Except for the historical statements contained herein, this
press release contains forward-looking statements concerning
relating to therapeutic benefits to COVID-19 patients who receive
convalescent plasma, as well as other statements that are not
historical facts. Actual results could differ materially from these
forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors,
including, without limitation risks related to the efficacy of CCP
as a therapeutic or prophylactic treatment option for COVID-19
patient, as well as other risks detailed in Cerus’ filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including Cerus’ Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, filed with the
SEC on February 21, 2020. Cerus disclaims any obligation or
undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements
contained in this press release. You are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date of this press release.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200402005284/en/
Tim Lee – Investor Relations Director Cerus Corporation
925-288-6137
Media Contact: Dan Boyle W20 Communications dan@boylepr.com
Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024