Terns, once a rising star in obesity and the MASH space, will refocus on cancer and partner out a handful of obesity assets.
In a tale as old as biopharma, Terns Pharmaceuticals will attempt to partner off a clutch of metabolic assets amid an oversaturated market for biotechs in the obesity space.
Instead of those candidates, Terns, once a rising star in obesity and the MASH space, will refocus on cancer asset TERN-701, which is under development for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The shift in focus was announced as Terns reported second quarter earnings on Wednesday.
“The company seeks to partner our portfolio of potentially best-in-class metabolic assets and does not plan to invest in clinical development in metabolic disease beyond year end 2025,” CEO Amy Burroughs said.
Terns will seek to find a partner for TERN-601, which is currently being tested in the Phase II FALCON trial of patients with obesity or who are overweight. The drug is an oral, small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist. The goal of the mid-stage test is to show competitive weight loss at 12 weeks as well as safety and tolerability and simple dose titration.
The biotech is hoping that TERN-601 will show class-leading results when the initial 12-week results are revealed in the fourth quarter.
The biotech raised $125 million in a public offering in the fall to fund the Phase II trial for TERN-601. At the time, analysts compared the asset to Eli Lilly’s orforglipron, which has risen to the fore as one of the most anticipated next-gen obesity drugs in development.
Other assets in need of a partner at Terns include the oral glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR) modulator TERN-800, which is in discovery, and TERN-501, an oral thyroid hormone receptor-beta (THR-β) agonist. The company has said it believes TERN-501 could be complementary to GLP-1 drugs to provide better metabolic and liver benefits and enhance weight loss.
Otherwise, Terns will focus on its oncology programs. TERN-701 is a next-generation allosteric BCR-ABL inhibitor that is currently being tested in a Phase I trial of patients with CML. The study is expected to read out in the fourth quarter. Previous interim data released in December 2024 showed early molecular responses in patients who were heavily pretreated, even at the lowest doses.
Terns currently has $315.4 million in cash on hand, compared to $358.2 million as of the end of December 2024. This cash is expected to run the company into 2028, according to the earnings report.
