Cerus Corporation and Shandong Zhongbaokang Medical Implements Partner to Establish Joint Venture in China

Cerus Corporation (Nasdaq: CERS) and Shandong Zhongbaokang Medical Implements Co. Ltd. (ZBK) today announced that they are forming a joint venture (JV) with the intent to develop, obtain regulatory approval for, manufacture and commercialize the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and red blood cells in China. The JV, which will be named “Cerus ZBK Biomedical” (CEZB), will be headquartered in Zibo, Shandong Province in eastern China.

“We are honored to join forces with ZBK in China, furthering our mission to make INTERCEPT the standard of care for patients globally,” said Pascal Maillard, Cerus’ vice president of commercial operations for the Asia Pacific region. “We believe that ZBK’s experience with local clinical and regulatory requirements, ISO-certified manufacturing infrastructure, and existing sales channels will facilitate accelerated and broad access to INTERCEPT across China’s transfusion medicine community.”

China represents one of the largest potential blood transfusion markets globally for INTERCEPT, with red blood cell collections in excess of 23 million unit-equivalents each year, and an estimated production of 1.8 million platelets doses per year. The healthcare system in China continues to grow at a rapid pace, enabling expanded access to blood components expected to benefit from pathogen inactivation.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Cerus to work to bring INTERCEPT to China as the market for platelets continues to grow rapidly,” said Mr. Xu Junfeng, chief executive officer of ZBK. “INTERCEPT-treated platelets would address an unmet clinical need in the blood transfusion market in China and would offer an important new, prospective measure of safety against known and emerging pathogens during this new era of pandemic preparedness planning.”

ZBK is a subsidiary of the Taibao Group and a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of blood transfusion, blood safety, and infusion products in China. ZBK markets and sells its products through its own sales force network to over 280 blood centers nationwide.

Under the terms of the JV agreement, Cerus and ZBK are the sole shareholders in CEZB, with Cerus owning a majority (51%) of the entity. Cerus anticipates that it will consolidate the results of CEZB in its consolidated financial statements. Additionally, Cerus will contribute an exclusive license to the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and red blood cells for CEZB to market across China. ZBK will contribute its significant local expertise to help perform necessary clinical studies and seek regulatory approval. Ultimately it is expected that ZBK will establish local manufacturing and leverage its commercial expertise and presence in the region.