Cerus Announces Appointment of Daniel Swisher as New Chair of Board of Directors

Cerus Announces Appointment of Daniel Swisher as New Chair of Board of Directors

CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) announced today that Daniel Swisher, a Cerus director since June 2011, has been elected Chair of the Cerus Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Swisher succeeds B.J. Cassin, who previously gave notice of his intent to retire from the Board, effective December 31, 2013, in order to devote more time to his family foundation.

"All of us at Cerus are grateful for the role B.J. has played in shaping the company over the past 21 years of service. His business acumen, experience and perspective have been invaluable to the Board and our management team"
"All of us at Cerus are grateful for the role B.J. has played in shaping the company over the past 21 years of service. His business acumen, experience and perspective have been invaluable to the Board and our management team," said William 'Obi' Greenman, Cerus' president and chief executive officer. "Under his leadership, Cerus has reached many important milestones, including our European launch and commercial growth, as well as the recent regulatory progress in the U.S. While we will miss B.J.'s contributions and steady perseverance, we feel privileged to have Dan lead the Board going forward."

"I am honored to have been part of the Cerus family for so many years," said B.J. Cassin. "I am proud of Cerus' accomplishments across the globe, and I look forward to following the team's continued progress in making the INTERCEPT technology globally available, including a potential regulatory approval and commercial launch in the U.S. Dan is an excellent choice to guide Cerus towards this and other important goals as Chair of the Board."

Daniel Swisher, 50, has served as chief executive officer and member of the Board of Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since 2003, and as Sunesis' president since 2005. Mr. Swisher joined Sunesis in 2001, previously serving as chief business officer and chief financial officer. Prior to joining Sunesis, he served in various management roles, including senior vice president of sales and marketing for ALZA Corporation from 1992 to 2001. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

"Cerus has been committed to improving blood safety for over two decades, and I am excited to assume the role of Chair of the Board for the next phase of the company's progress in delivering on this commitment," said incoming Chair, Daniel Swisher. "With the company's proven track record of commercial execution combined with its current efforts around the PMA submissions for plasma and platelets in the U.S., I believe Cerus is well positioned for the future."

ABOUT CERUS

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused in the field of blood safety. The company's INTERCEPT Blood System has been demonstrated to inactivate a broad range of viruses, bacteria and parasites that may be present in donated blood, including established threats such as hepatitis B and C, HIV, West Nile virus and bacteria, as well as emerging pathogens such as influenza, malaria and dengue. Cerus currently markets and sells the INTERCEPT Blood System for both platelets and plasma in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and selected countries in other regions around the world. In the United States, Cerus is seeking regulatory approval of the INTERCEPT Blood System for plasma and platelets. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is in clinical development. See http://www.cerus.com for more information.

INTERCEPT and the INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements relating to Cerus' expectations regarding the transition in leadership and Cerus' commercial and regulatory progress in the U.S. and abroad. These forward-looking statements are based upon Cerus' current expectations. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, without limitation, risks related to Cerus' ability to effect a smooth management transition, the success of clinical trials, sufficiency of capital resources and commercial adoption of INTERCEPT, that Cerus may encounter unanticipated difficulties complying with the prescribed submission timing or other modular PMA requirements related to the INTERCEPT Blood System for plasma or for platelets and other risks detailed in the Cerus' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in Cerus' annual report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013, filed with the SEC on August 2, 2013. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Cerus does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, changed assumptions or otherwise.

Contacts

Cerus Corporation
Lainie Corten, 925-288-6319
Sr Director, Global Marketing & Investor Relations