Hemanext Inc., a medical technology company advancing the next generation of red blood cell (RBC) processing and storage, today announced that it expanded U.S. patient services and commercial reach after three major independent, non-profit U.S. blood centers signed supply agreements for the Company’s patented and FDA cleared Hemanext ONE® Red Blood Cell Processing and Storage System.

The agreements extend Hemanext’s scope of operations to blood suppliers that collectively serve hospitals in over 30 US states, positioning the Company to further improve transfusion care and help supply the nation’s vulnerable red blood cell supply chain.

“The agreements announced today represent much more than commercial growth —they signal a shift in how blood establishments and hospitals are thinking about stored blood,” said Shane Ray, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hemanext. “For decades, innovation has focused on ensuring blood is available. Today, there is growing recognition that the quality of stored blood also matters. Together with our blood establishment partners, we are helping establish an innovative approach to blood storage designed to preserve red blood cell quality for the patients who depend on transfusion.”

Hemanext Inc. has signed agreements with LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, serving hospitals in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee; Hoxworth Blood Center, serving hospitals across the Greater Cincinnati region spanning Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana; and Mississippi Blood Services, serving hospitals throughout Mississippi and neighboring states.

“Providing a safe and reliable blood supply to the hospitals and communities we serve means making the best use of every blood donation,” said Kimberly E. Kinsell, Chief Executive Officer at LifeSouth Community Blood Centers. “We are pleased to partner with Hemanext to explore how preserving red blood cell quality throughout storage can benefit our hospitals and patient care.”

The transactions follow Hemanext Inc.’s recently announced strategic production partnership with OneBlood, one of the nation’s largest independent nonprofit blood centers, serving more than 250 hospitals across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Additionally, Vitalant, a Hemanext investor and one of the nation’s largest nonprofit blood and biotherapies suppliers serving 33 U.S. states, was an early partner in supporting the commercialization of Hemanext ONE.

“We are excited to explore how oxygen-controlled RBCs can help us preserve red blood cell quality throughout storage and potentially bring meaningful benefits to the patients and hospitals we serve,” said Dr. David Oh, CEO and Chief Medical Officer, Hoxworth.

Hemanext’s agreements with hospital systems and blood suppliers expand the Company’s commercial reach in the U.S. and parts of Europe at a time when blood centers worldwide confront persistent supply challenges, including critically low inventories in several of the communities served by Hemanext’s new partners. Against this backdrop, innovations that help preserve RBC quality during the standard 42-day storage period can provide blood banks with greater flexibility that can help address the nation’s severe RBC shortages.

“Every donated unit is precious,” said Christopher Swafford, President and CEO, Mississippi Blood. “As stewards of the community blood supply, technologies that help preserve red blood cell quality throughout storage improve our ability to make the most of every donation and better serve the hospitals and patients who depend on us.”

About Hemanext

Hemanext is a commercial-stage medical technology company dedicated to transforming blood transfusion by improving the quality of stored red blood cells. Its proprietary oxygen-control technology is designed to reduce oxidative damage during storage, helping preserve RBC quality and function throughout the 42-day storage period.1-3 Hemanext partners with blood establishments, hospitals, and researchers to set a new standard in transfusion medicine for patients who depend on blood transfusions.

About the Hemanext ONE® System

Hemanext ONE® is a first-in-class oxygen-controlled (hypoxic) processing and storage system designed to improve the quality of stored red blood cells by reducing oxygen exposure, a primary driver of oxidative damage during storage. The system is intended to process and store whole blood- or apheresis-derived leukocyte-reduced red blood cells collected in CP2D/AS-3 or apheresis-derived LR-RBC in ACD-A/AS-3.

Hemanext ONE has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorization and is CE marked for commercial distribution in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom. The system also benefits from a dedicated U.S. reimbursement pathway, supporting hospital economics in eligible outpatient settings and broader commercial adoption of oxygen-controlled red blood cells.

Learn more at Hemanext.com.

References

  1. ClinicalTrials.gov. Clinical investigation to evaluate the Hemanext® oxygen reduction system-pivotal trial. Accessed December 15, 2025. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/results/NCT03301779?view=results.

  2. Rabcuka J, Blonski S, Meli A, et al. Metabolic reprograming under hypoxic storage preserves faster oxygen unloading from stored red blood cells. Blood Adv. 2022; 6(18):5415-5428. Doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2022007774.

  3. Rabcuka J, Fallon J, Meli A, et al. Storage under hypoxia improves the ability of red cells to release oxygen in ex vivo perfused human kidneys. Blood Red Cells & Iron. 2025. Doi: /10.1016/j.brci.2025.100038.

 

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