Xeris Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:XERS) said last week that it launched a Phase I trial of its ready-to-use liquid glucagon in a closed-loop, dual-hormone artificial pancreas system.
Automated insulin delivery systems represent the latest advancement in diabetes management. But these technologies fall short of performing the tasks of a human pancreas – they deliver insulin, but they can’t co-deliver glucagon. Traditional dry-powder glucagon formulations must be used immediately, according to Xeris, or else they begin to degrade.
The Chicago-based company has developed a glucagon formulation that is stable at room temperature over extended periods of time. A closed-loop system that can deliver both glucagon and insulin could help reduce a user’s risk of hypoglycemia, Xeris explained, since the system would behave similarly to the body’s natural methods of glucose control.
The Phase I trial, designed to test the efficacy of a closed-loop algorithm in people with Type I diabetes before and after exercise, will be conducted by Dr. Jessica Castle at the OHSU School of Medicine and OHSU Harold Schnitzer Diabetes Health Center.
Researchers plan to compare a dual-hormone artificial pancreas using Xeris’ glucagon with a single-hormone artificial pancreas and a low-glucose suspend algorithm. Xeris said that it expects results from the study in the first half of 2019.
“The goal in researching our liquid stable glucagon formulation as part of a dual-hormone closed-loop mated system is to overcome the limitations of current dry-powder glucagon formulations in automated pump systems to manage diabetes; this trial will help us better understand the potential application of our ready-to-use glucagon formulation,” chairman & CEO Paul Edick said in prepared remarks. “Our research collaboration with OHSU and JDRF is an important opportunity to determine how a dual-hormone artificial pancreas may help advance the standard of care for people with diabetes.”
