CERUS CORP (CERS)

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. Operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, are not necessarily indicative of results that may occur in future periods.

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in this Item 2, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and in Item 1A, “Risk Factors.” These statements relate to future events or to our future operating or financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about:

•
the impact of macroeconomic developments, including escalating trade tensions and existing tariffs and potential new or increased tariffs and the ongoing conflicts between Ukraine and Russia, the Middle East, as well as the risk of a global conflict on our business and operations as well as the business or operations of our customers, manufacturers, research partners, and other third parties with whom we conduct business;

•
future sales of and anticipated demand for, and our ability to effectively commercialize and achieve market acceptance of the INTERCEPT™ Blood System, including our ability to comply with applicable United States, or U.S., and foreign laws, regulations and regulatory requirements;

•
our ability to successfully complete the development of, receive regulatory approvals for and commercialize the red blood cell system;

•
our strategy and the potential therapeutic applications for the INTERCEPT Blood System;

•
our ability to manage the growth of our business and attendant cost increases, including in connection with the commercialization of the INTERCEPT Blood System in the U.S., as well as our ability to manage the risks attendant to our international operations;

•
the timing or likelihood of regulatory submissions and approvals and other regulatory actions or interactions, including whether existing clinical data will be sufficient in order to obtain a CE Certificate of Conformity and affix a CE Mark to the red blood cell system and whether our planned modular premarket approval, or PMA, application for the red blood cell system will be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on the timeline we anticipate or at all;

•
our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals of the INTERCEPT Blood System;

•
our ability to obtain adequate clinical and commercial supplies of the INTERCEPT Blood System from our sole source suppliers for a particular product or component they manufacture;

•
the initiation, scope, rate of progress, results and timing of our ongoing and proposed preclinical and clinical trials of the INTERCEPT Blood System;

•
the successful completion of our research, development and clinical programs and our ability to manage cost increases associated with preclinical and clinical development of the INTERCEPT Blood System;

•
the amount and availability of funding we may receive under our government contracts with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, and the U.S. Department of Defense, or DoD, due to executive orders impacting government contract funding and personnel, U.S. government shutdowns or otherwise;

•
our ability to transition distribution of the INTERCEPT Blood System from third parties to a direct sales model in certain international markets;

•
the ability of our products to inactivate the emerging viruses and other pathogens that we may target in the future;

•
our ability to protect our intellectual property and operate our business without infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others;

•
our estimates regarding the sufficiency of our cash resources, our ability to continue as a going concern and our need for additional funding; and

•
our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and any other statements that are not historical facts.

22

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “will,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “predict,” “potential,” and similar expressions intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events, are based on assumptions, and are subject to risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that any of the events anticipated by forward-looking statements will occur or, if any of them do occur, what impact they will have on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Certain important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in such statements, including the rate of customer adoption in the U.S. and our ability to achieve market acceptance of our products in the U.S. and international markets, whether our preclinical and clinical data or data from commercial use will be considered sufficient by regulatory authorities or Notified Bodies to grant marketing approval or receive CE Certificates of Conformity for our products or for product extensions or additional claims for our products, our ability to obtain reimbursement approval for our products, changes in regulatory approval or certification requirements for our products, our ability to complete the development and testing of additional configurations or redesigns of our products, our need for additional financing and our ability to access funding under our agreements with BARDA and the DoD, the impacts of regulation of our products by domestic and foreign regulatory authorities, our limited experience in sales, marketing and regulatory support for the INTERCEPT Blood System, our reliance on Fresenius Kabi AG and other third parties to manufacture and supply certain components of the INTERCEPT Blood System, incompatibility of our platelet system with some commercial platelet collection methods, our need to complete our red blood cell system’s commercial design, more effective product offerings by, or clinical setbacks of, our competitors, product liability, our use of hazardous materials in the development of our products, business interruption due to earthquake, our expectation of continuing losses, protection of our intellectual property rights, volatility in our stock price, on-going compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, adverse market and economic conditions, including those resulting from the effects of macroeconomic conditions, and other factors discussed below and under the caption “Risk Factors,” in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. We discuss many of these risks in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q in greater detail in the section titled “Risk Factors” under Part II, Item 1A below. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. You should read this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the documents that we incorporate by reference in and have filed as exhibits to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q completely. Our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or future events, even if new information becomes available in the future. You should not assume that our silence over time means that actual events are bearing out as expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.

Overview

Since our inception in 1991, we have devoted substantially all of our efforts and resources to the research, development, clinical testing and commercialization of the INTERCEPT Blood System. Our INTERCEPT Blood System is intended for use with blood components and certain of their derivatives: plasma, platelets, red blood cells and to produce INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex, or IFC, and pathogen reduced plasma, cryoprecipitate reduced. The INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets, or platelet system, and the INTERCEPT Blood System for plasma, or plasma system, have received a broad range of regulatory approvals and certifications, and are being marketed and sold in a number of countries around the world, including the U.S., certain countries in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, the Middle East, and Latin America and selected countries in other regions of the world. Additionally, we have received FDA approval for the INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation which uses our plasma system to produce IFC for the treatment and control of bleeding, including massive hemorrhage, associated with fibrinogen deficiency. In addition, the INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation is used to produce pathogen reduced plasma, cryoprecipitate reduced. We currently sell the platelet and plasma systems using our direct sales force and through distributors and we sell IFC or disposable kits to manufacture IFC in the U.S. using our direct sales force.

The platelet system is approved by the FDA in the U.S. for ex vivo preparation of pathogen-reduced apheresis platelet components collected and stored in 100% plasma or InterSol in order to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted infection, or TTI, including sepsis, and as an alternative to gamma irradiation for prevention of transfusion-associated graft versus host disease or TA-GVHD. The plasma system is approved by the FDA in the U.S. for ex vivo preparation of pathogen-reduced, whole blood derived or apheresis plasma in order to reduce the risk of TTI when treating patients requiring therapeutic plasma transfusion, and as an alternative to gamma irradiation for prevention of TA-GVHD. Outside of the U.S., we have received CE Certificates of Conformity issued by our Notified Body in accordance with the European Union Medical Devices Regulation 2017/745, or MDR, for the platelet system and the plasma system and affixed the CE Mark to these products.

The INTERCEPT Blood System for red blood cells, or the red blood cell system, is currently in development and has not been commercialized anywhere in the world. We filed our application for conformity assessment to obtain a CE Certificate of Conformity to affix the CE Mark to the red blood cell system in December 2018 under the Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC, or MDD, and in June 2021, we completed the resubmission of our application under the MDR. In October 2024, we announced that TÜV-SÜD, our Notified Body for the red blood cell system, in consultation with the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board, or CBG, the Competent Authority for the red blood cell system, reviewed information regarding the medicinal product or active pharmaceutical ingredient of our MDR application and concluded that the data provided were insufficient to support the proposed classification of the impurity profile of the final product, necessitating the closure of our MDR application without successful completion of the conformity assessm

[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

This discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. Operating results for the year ended December 31, 2025, are not necessarily indicative of results that may occur in future periods. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. When reviewing the discussion below, you should keep in mind the substantial risks and uncertainties that impact our business, including but not limited to the risks and uncertainties described in “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements contained in this report or implied by past results and trends.

Overview

Since our inception in 1991, we have devoted substantially all of our efforts and resources to the research, development, clinical testing and commercialization of the INTERCEPT Blood System. Our INTERCEPT Blood System is intended for use with blood components and certain of their derivatives: plasma, platelets, red blood cells and to produce INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex, or IFC, and pathogen reduced plasma, cryoprecipitate reduced. The INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets, or platelet system, and the INTERCEPT Blood System for plasma, or plasma system, have received a broad range of regulatory approvals and certifications, and are being marketed and sold in a number of countries around the world, including the U.S., certain countries in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, the Middle East, and Latin America and selected countries in other regions of the world. Additionally, we have received FDA approval for the INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation which uses our plasma system to produce IFC for the treatment and control of bleeding, including massive hemorrhage, associated with fibrinogen deficiency. In addition, the INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation is used to produce pathogen reduced plasma, cryoprecipitate reduced. We currently sell the platelet and plasma systems using our direct sales force and through distributors and we sell IFC or disposable kits to manufacture IFC in the U.S. using our direct sales force.

The platelet system is approved by the FDA in the U.S. for ex vivo preparation of pathogen-reduced apheresis platelet components collected and stored in 100% plasma or InterSol in order to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted infection, or TTI, including sepsis, and as an alternative to gamma irradiation for prevention of transfusion-associated graft versus host disease or TA-GVHD. The plasma system is approved by the FDA in the U.S. for ex vivo preparation of pathogen-reduced, whole blood derived or apheresis plasma in order to reduce the risk of TTI when treating patients requiring therapeutic plasma transfusion, and as an alternative to gamma irradiation for prevention of TA-GVHD. Outside of the U.S., we have received CE Certificates of Conformity issued by our Notified Body in accordance with the European Union Medical Devices Regulation 2017/745, or MDR, for the platelet system and the plasma system and affixed the CE Mark to these products.

The INTERCEPT Blood System for red blood cells, or the red blood cell system, is currently in development and has not been commercialized anywhere in the world. We filed our application for conformity assessment to obtain a CE Certificate of Conformity to affix the CE Mark to the red blood cell system in December 2018 under the Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC, or MDD, and in June 2021, we completed the resubmission of our application under the MDR. In October 2024, we announced that TÜV-SÜD, our Notified Body for the red blood cell system, in consultation with the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board, or CBG, the Competent Authority for the red blood cell system, reviewed information regarding the medicinal product or active pharmaceutical ingredient of our MDR application and concluded that the data provided were insufficient to support the proposed classification of the impurity profile of the final product, necessitating the closure of our MDR application without successful completion of the conformity assessment and issuance of a CE Certificate of Conformity. In collaboration with TÜV-SÜD, we developed a plan for resubmission of our application and identified a new Competent Authority. We revised our MDR application to address the questions raised by CBG and submitted a new MDR application for the red blood cell system to TÜV-SÜD. In July 2025, we announced that TÜV-SÜD completed their clinical assessment of our new MDR application and transferred information regarding the active substances, or API, to the identified competent authority, the State Institute for Drug Control, or SÚKL. After discussions with TÜV-SÜD, we decided to transfer the review of the API from SÚKL to the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety, or ANSM. We cannot predict if or when a decision concerning certification would occur. In addition, as a result of the resubmission of our MDR application, our product development costs will be ongoing. See also the risk factor entitled “The red blood cell system is currently in development and may never receive any marketing approvals or CE Certificates of Conformity” under “Item 1A—Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In 2017, we initiated a Phase 3 clinical, double-blind study in the U.S., known as the RedeS study, to assess the safety and efficacy of INTERCEPT-treated red blood cells when compared to conventional, red blood cells. In addition, in the first quarter of 2024, we announced positive topline results from a Phase 3 clinical trial in the U.S., known as the ReCePI study, that was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of INTERCEPT-treated red blood cells in patients requiring transfusion for acute blood loss during surgery. We announced that the ReCePI study met its primary efficacy endpoint, demonstrating non-inferiority for INTERCEPT RBCs compared to conventional RBCs as measured by the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) following transfusion of study RBCs. We continue to believe that we will need to conduct, complete and generate acceptable data from an additional Phase 3 clinical trial in chronic anemia patients in the U.S., in vitro studies, and other necessary activities before the FDA will consider our red blood cell system for potential

64

approval. While we previously anticipated that the completion of the RedeS clinical trial and the planned final PMA module submission would occur in the second half of 2026, we anticipate that additional clinical trial data will be required to supplement our two Phase 3 clinical trials, ReCePI and RedeS. Enrollment of the RedeS clinical trial was completed in 2025 and we anticipate the completion of the trial in the second half of 2026. Discussion of the planned PMA module submissions with the FDA will not occur prior to the completion of the RedeS trial. In any event, for our planned modular PMA application, we will seek to introduce supplemental clinical data we obtained from European clinical trials, though we cannot provide assurance that we will be able to demonstrate comparability or that the FDA will allow supplemental clinical European data. In addition, if we are unable to generate the additional data needed for licensure, we will need to reach agreement with the FDA on a new pathway to generate sufficient data for the red blood cell system. We must also demonstrate to the FDA an ability to define, test and meet acceptable specifications for our current manufactured compounds used to prepare INTERCEPT-treated red blood cells before we can initiate our planned modular PMA application submission to and seek regulatory approval of the red blood cell system from the FDA. We do not know whether or not the FDA will have a similar perspective on the information regarding the medicinal product as CBG, or that we will be able to answer such questions satisfactorily, should they arise. We are also planning a prospective, open-label, controlled Phase 2 study designed to determine whether INTERCEPT RBC transfusions into patients with pre-existing antibodies to INTERCEPT RBCs will result in increased antibody titer indicative of a secondary immune response. Subjects will have samples drawn pre-transfusion and over 90-days post transfusion to detect responses to INTERCEPT RBC. Clinical evidence of hemolysis will be evaluated using routine laboratory testing. If treatment emergent antibody reactions associated with hemolysis are observed, the FDA will require us to place a clinical hold and we will need to investigate the underlying cause. Such investigations may be difficult for us to assess imputability which may lead to a complete halt of the clinical trial, may irreparably harm our red blood cell product’s reputation and may force us to suspend or terminate development activities related to the red blood cell system in the U.S.

We have two agreements with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, under which we receive funding from BARDA to support the development of our red blood cell system, including clinical and regulatory development programs in support of potential licensure, and development, manufacturing and scale-up activities, as well as activities related to broader implementation of all three INTERCEPT systems in areas of emerging pathogens. The agreement entered in June 2016, or the 2016 BARDA Agreement, currently expires in September 2026 and the agreement entered in September 2024, or the 2024 BARDA Agreement, currently expires in September 2030. The ReCePI study was funded and the RedeS and other studies are being funded as part of our 2016 BARDA Agreement and BARDA reimburses us for allowable direct contract costs, as such costs are incurred, and for allowable indirect costs under both agreements. If we are unable to access all of the activities and associated reimbursement amounts for the remaining options available under our 2024 BARDA Agreement or if we are unable to add additional options and respective reimbursement amounts to fund further activities that may be required to meet licensure requirements, we will need to self-fund the activities required to satisfy the requirements for PMA licensure in the U.S. See the discussion under “Government contracts” below for more information. Should those amounts be inaccessible and should we be unable to self-fund the remaining initiatives, successful completion of the development of the red blood cell system may require us to obtain additional capital in order to obtain any regulatory approvals for and commercialize this product. In addition, if we are unable to obtain from our suppliers sufficient clinical quantities of the active compounds for our red blood cell system meeting defined quality and regulatory specifications, if our suppliers are not able to maintain regulatory compliance or if we experience additional delays in enrollment or completion of the RedeS study, our product development costs would likely increase.

In November 2020, we received FDA approval for the INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation. We commercialize and sell finished IFC made by our manufacturing blood center partners and other blood centers directly to hospitals and indirectly through certain blood centers. Similar to our platelet and plasma products, any blood center manufacturing IFC will need to complete its process validations and obtain site-specific licenses from th

[Excerpt truncated for page length; the complete text is on the linked full-MD&A page.]