Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) announced a four-year supply agreement with Établissement Français du Sang (EFS), the French Blood Establishment, for its INTERCEPT Blood System. The agreement covers the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma, as well as the company's LED-based INT200 illumination device.

EFS distributes approximately 330,000 units of platelets annually across 13 regional centers in continental France and overseas territories. The French blood establishment has used the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets since 2006, with nationwide adoption following a rollout in 2017.

The system is also implemented in French overseas territories including La Réunion, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. According to the company, implementation in these island territories was driven by the need to maintain safe platelet supplies during outbreaks of chikungunya, dengue and Zika.

"EFS has been a global leader in the adoption of pathogen inactivation technologies to help safeguard the blood supply and enhance patient safety," said Christian Boutemy, Cerus' vice president of international commercial operations.

Cerus develops technologies and pathogen-protected blood components for blood centers and hospitals. The INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma is available globally and has both CE mark and FDA approval for these blood components.