Terns Pharmaceuticals Reports Topline 12-week Data from its Phase 2 Trial Evaluating Oral GLP-1 Receptor Agonist TERN-601 in Obesity

Results show maximum placebo-adjusted weight loss of 4.6% with 12% treatment discontinuation due to adverse events

Asymptomatic, reversible grade 3 liver enzyme elevations occurred in three participants during post-treatment follow-up period, two of which were deemed drug related

Company will not advance TERN-601 or invest in other metabolic assets

Reiterates focus on TERN-701, a potential best-in-class allosteric BCR-ABL inhibitor, for chronic myeloid leukemia with clinical data this quarter

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Oct. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Terns” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: TERN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of small-molecule product candidates to address serious diseases, including oncology and obesity, today announced topline 12-week results from its Phase 2 trial of TERN-601, a novel, once-daily, oral GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) as a potential treatment for obesity.

“The threshold for a truly differentiated oral GLP-1RA therapy – one that delivers safety, tolerability and efficacy – is high. The Phase 2 topline 12-week results for TERN-601 did not meet this threshold and likely preclude further development,” said Amy Burroughs, chief executive officer of Terns. “As we’ve previously communicated, we do not plan to further invest in metabolic disease. Our team remains energized and focused on advancing our potentially best-in-class TERN-701 program in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) with our full capabilities. We look forward to announcing new data from our Phase 1 CARDINAL trial of TERN-701 for CML this quarter.”

“We would like to thank all the trial participants, investigators, caregivers, clinical sites, and Terns team members for their support and involvement in this well-run Phase 2 trial,” said Emil Kuriakose, M.D., chief medical officer of Terns. “The results of our previous Phase 1 inpatient 28-day trial did not translate to those we observed in this 12-week trial, which was conducted in an outpatient multi-center setting. The post-treatment reversible grade 3 liver enzyme elevations were unexpected based on the lack of similar signals in preclinical and Phase 1 studies,” added Dr. Kuriakose. “We plan to publish detailed results from the Phase 2 trial in the future.”

Topline Results Summary

Baseline Characteristics

• Baseline characteristics were generally well-balanced across the treatment arms
• Participants were predominantly female (78-79%), mean age range was 47-53 years of age, with mean weight and body mass index (BMI) ranges of 99-102 kg and 36-37 kg/m2, respectively

Weight Loss

• Statistically significant weight loss at doses > 500 mg (up to -4.6% placebo-adjusted)