Xeris Pharmaceuticals Awarded Phase I-II NIH SBIR Fast Track Grant to Advance Stable, Non-Aqueous Glucagon for Bi-Hormonal Artificial Pancreas

Austin, TX, July 31, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Xeris"), an Austin-based, emerging biopharmaceutical company developing patient-friendly injectable treatments for diabetes and other diseases, was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant for $336,793 to advance the company's room-temperature stable, non-aqueous glucagon formulation for the advancement of a bi-hormonal pump artificial pancreas. The funding represents the initial installment of a Phase I-II Fast Track SBIR grant, with the potential for a total award of $1.05 million with additional Phase II funding. The grant was awarded on July 30 by the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), an institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) which funds research on diabetes and other metabolic diseases.