CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Xeris Biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: XERS), a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing unique therapies for patient populations in endocrinology, neurology, and gastroenterology, today announced a collaboration agreement with Merck & Co. , with an option to license Xeris’ suspension-based formulation technology, XeriJect™, for use with undisclosed monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for the purpose of engineering ultra-high concentration, ready-to-use formulations. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We are quite excited to be working closely with Merck on this opportunity using our novel platform technology, XeriJect,” said Paul R. Edick, Chairman and CEO of Xeris Biopharma. “The XeriJect platform has broad applicability in improving the delivery of large molecules, such as monoclonal antibodies. This is another in a series of collaborations Xeris has undertaken with top 10 pharma companies evaluating the XeriJect technology.”

Mr. Edick continued, "These collaborations are important to validating our technology. We recognize they take time to complete and thus, they are not immediately critical to our near-term core business. However, should Merck exercise the negotiated license agreement, they could be very valuable to Xeris. It is the continued growth of Gvoke® and Keveyis®, the potential for the approval and launch of Recorlev, a pipeline supported by our novel technologies, our strong cash balance, and an expected $50 million in synergies from the Strongbridge acquisition that puts Xeris in a solid financial position.”

About Xeris Biopharma Holdings

Xeris (Nasdaq: XERS) is a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing unique therapies for patient populations in endocrinology, neurology, and gastroenterology. Xeris has two commercially available products, Gvoke®, a ready-to-use liquid glucagon for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia and Keveyis®, the first and only FDA-approved therapy for primary periodic paralysis. Xeris also has a robust pipeline of development programs to extend the current marketed products into important new indications and uses and bring new products forward using its proprietary formulation technology platforms, XeriSol™ and XeriJect™, supporting long-term product development and commercial success.

Xeris Biopharma Holdings is headquartered in Chicago, IL. For more information, visit www.xerispharma.com, or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc. including statements regarding the market and therapeutic potential of its products and product candidates, expectations regarding clinical data or results from planned clinical trials, estimates and projections about the potential benefits of the Strongbridge Biopharma acquisition, estimates and expectations regarding potential collaborations, the timing or likelihood of regulatory approval and commercialization of its product candidates, the timing or likelihood of expansion into additional markets, the timing or likelihood of identifying potential development and commercialization partnerships, the potential utility of its formulation platforms and other statements containing the words “will,” “would,” “continue,” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, failure to realize the expected benefits of the acquisition, failure to promptly and effectively integrate Strongbridge’s businesses, general economic and business conditions that affect the combined companies following the consummation of the acquisition, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the combined businesses following the consummation of the transaction, changes in global, political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory forces, future exchange and interest rates, changes in tax laws, regulations, rates and policies, future business acquisitions or disposals and competitive developments. These forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and assessments made in light of Xeris’ experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, business strategies, operating environment, future developments, and other factors it believes appropriate. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. The factors described in the context of such forward-looking statements in this communication could cause Xeris’ plans with respect to Strongbridge, Xeris’ plans with respect to XeriJect, Xeris’ actual results, performance or achievements, industry results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although it is believed that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct and persons reading this communication are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as at the date of this communication. Additional information about economic, competitive, governmental, technological, and other factors that may affect Strongbridge is set forth in Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in Strongbridge’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with the SEC, the contents of which are not incorporated by reference into, nor do they form part of, this communication. Any forward-looking statements in this communication are based upon information available to Xeris, as of the date of this communication and, while believed to be true when made, may ultimately prove to be incorrect. Subject to any obligations under applicable law, Xeris does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, or to conform any forward-looking statement to actual results, future events, or to changes in expectations. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Xeris or any person acting on behalf of any of them are expressly qualified in their entirety by this paragraph.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211025005168/en/