[March 13, 2013]

Cerus Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) today announced that it intends to offer and sell shares of its common stock, subject to market and other conditions, in an underwritten public offering. Cerus also expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase additional shares of common stock to cover overallotments, if any. Cerus anticipates using the net proceeds from the offering for clinical development and other research and development activities related to the INTERCEPT Blood System, preparatory activities for the potential commercialization of the INTERCEPT Blood System in the United States and elsewhere, and for other general corporate purposes, including regulatory activity, selling, general and administrative expenses and working capital. Cerus may also use a portion of the net proceeds from the offering to prepay the remaining outstanding indebtedness under its growth capital loan with Comerica Bank.

Cowen and Company, LLC is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering.

The securities described above are being offered by Cerus pursuant to a shelf registration statement previously filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC (News - Alert)"). A preliminary prospectus supplement related to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC's website located at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and th accompanying prospectus relating to this offering, when available, may be obtained from Cowen and Company, LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Services, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, Attn: Prospectus Department, or by calling 631-274-2806, or by faxing 631-254-7140.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

ABOUT CERUS

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused on enhancing blood safety. The INTERCEPT system is designed to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted diseases by inactivating a broad range of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and parasites that may be present in donated blood. The nucleic acid targeting mechanism of action enables INTERCEPT treatment to inactivate established transfusion threats, such as hepatitis B and C, HIV, West Nile virus and bacteria, and is designed to inactivate 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 is in the process of determining the application shell for a potential regulatory submission for the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is in clinical development.

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' proposed public offering. 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 whether Cerus will be able to raise capital through the sale of shares of common stock, market conditions and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the proposed public offering, risks related to the application of the net proceeds from the proposed public offering, risks associated with the uncertain research and product development process, and other risks detailed in Cerus' filings with the SEC, including in Cerus' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the SEC on March 12, 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.

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