Xeris Biopharma adds Menassie Taddese to board of directors

Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: XERS) said on November 2, 2026 that it had appointed Menassie M. Taddese to its board of directors, effective that day, and that he would also serve on the Board's Audit Committee.¹

According to the company's 8-K filing, the board increased its size from eight to nine members, creating a vacancy that Taddese was appointed to fill.¹ He will serve as a Class II director with a term expiring at the company's 2029 annual meeting of stockholders.¹

Taddese brings nearly three decades of pharmaceutical industry experience. He most recently served at Viatris, where, as the company described it, he led an operation worth roughly $3 billion spread over more than 125 markets, covering four major therapeutic areas and about 3,500 employees.¹ Before that, he spent over two decades at Pfizer, moving through finance, commercial, and general management positions between June 1997 and November 2020.¹

He currently holds a board seat at Medexus Pharmaceuticals Inc., which the filing describes as a specialty pharmaceutical company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, where he chairs the audit committee.¹ Since March 2023, he has also served as a senior advisor at Emerging Markets Intelligence & Research, a Dubai-based advisory and research firm.¹

The filing states that there is no arrangement or understanding between Taddese and any other party regarding his selection, and no family relationships tie him to current directors or executives.¹ The board determined that he qualifies as independent under Nasdaq listing standards, including heightened audit committee independence rules.¹

As part of his appointment, Taddese received an initial equity award of options and restricted stock units with a combined grant date fair value of approximately $450,000¹, vesting over three years, under the company's standard director compensation program.