Haemonetics Not Chosen To Supply Red Cross With Whole Blood Collection Parts

(RTTNews) - Haemonetics Corp. (HAE) Monday said it was not selected to supply The American Red Cross with certain whole blood collection components. The company was informed that a competitor was chosen to supply these products on an exclusive basis.

Brian Concannon, Haemonetics' President and CEO, commented: "While we are disappointed that the American Red Cross has selected a competitor to meet their needs for whole blood collection products, we are not wavering in our resolve to bring differentiating technologies to this marketplace. These include our unique SOLX red cell storage solution, as well as continued automation of the whole blood collection process."

Supply agreements of this nature include options for customers to change vendors if significant technological advances occur during the course of the agreement. Haemonetics plans to bring such advances to market.

The company said around 75 percent of the world's annual leukoreduced whole blood collections - the market Haemonetics participates in - are outside the U.S. Ongoing company initiatives are lowering the cost of its whole blood collection kit, a key enabler to pursuing tenders outside the U.S.