UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.
On May 16, 2022, Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. issued a press release announcing its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2022. A copy of the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
The information contained in Item 2.02 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, including Exhibit 99.1 attached hereto, is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and shall not be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit No. |
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Description |
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99.1 |
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Press Release issued by Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on May 16, 2022 |
104 |
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Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
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TERNS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. |
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Date: May 16, 2022 |
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/s/ Bryan Yoon |
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Bryan Yoon |
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Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel |
Exhibit 99.1
Terns Pharmaceuticals Reports First Quarter 2022 Financial Results and Business Updates
-IND opened for NASH Phase 2a trial of TERN-501 (THR-β agonist) alone and in combination with TERN-101 (FXR agonist); trial initiated with top-line data expected in second half of 2023
-TERN-601 (GLP-1R agonist) IND-enabling studies underway; Phase 1 clinical trial initiation for obesity expected in 2023
-TERN-701 (allosteric BCR-ABL inhibitor) Phase 1 clinical trial for chronic myeloid leukemia initiated in China
-Cash and equivalents of $151 million provides runway into 2025, including three expected clinical trial readouts across three product candidates and three indications
FOSTER CITY, Calif., May 16, 2022 – Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Terns” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: TERN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of small-molecule single-agent and combination therapy candidates to address serious diseases such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), obesity and cancer, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 and business updates.
“The Terns team has continued to advance our pipeline with the opening of our combination therapy IND for NASH and the commencement of key IND-enabling activities in our GLP-1 program in obesity, along with the initiation of a clinical trial for TERN-701 in chronic myeloid leukemia by Hansoh, our development partner in China,” said Senthil Sundaram, chief executive officer at Terns. “As we continue this momentum across our diverse pipeline, we remain committed to a prudent approach to funding our operations. Following a strategic review of our pipeline, we have decided to focus our resources on advancing our most promising pipeline candidates: (1) TERN-501, including combination therapy development with TERN-101, (2) TERN-601, our oral, small-molecule GLP-1 candidate, and (3) supporting our partner’s clinical development of TERN-701 for CML in China. This decision extends our expected cash runway into 2025, enabling key expected clinical trial readouts across three indications for TERN-501, TERN-601, and TERN-701 during that time period.”
Recent Developments and Anticipated Milestones
TERN-501: Thyroid hormone receptor-beta (THR-β) agonist for NASH
TERN-601: Oral, small-molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist for obesity
TERN-701: Oral, allosteric BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for chronic myeloid leukemia
TERN-201: Vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) inhibitor
Business Update
Upcoming Investor Events
First Quarter 2022 Financial Results
Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited; in thousands except share and per share amounts)
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Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2022 |
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2021 |
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Operating expenses: |
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Research and development |
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$ |
8,136 |
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$ |
8,735 |
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General and administrative |
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5,689 |
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4,561 |
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Total operating expenses |
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13,825 |
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13,296 |
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Loss from operations |
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(13,825 |
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(13,296 |
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Interest income |
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69 |
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11 |
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Other income (expense), net |
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4 |
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(13 |
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Loss before income taxes |
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(13,752 |
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(13,298 |
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Income tax expense |
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(21 |
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(39 |
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Net loss |
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$ |
(13,773 |
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$ |
(13,337 |
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Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted |
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$ |
(0.55 |
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$ |
(0.88 |
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Weighted average common stock outstanding, basic and diluted |
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25,269,271 |
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15,160,046 |
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Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Selected Balance Sheet Data
(Unaudited; in thousands)
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March 31, 2022 |
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December 31, 2021 |
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Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities |
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$ |
151,268 |
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165,982 |
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Total assets |
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156,669 |
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168,070 |
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Total liabilities |
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7,953 |
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7,767 |
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Total stockholders’ equity |
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148,716 |
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160,303 |
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About Terns Pharmaceuticals
Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of small-molecule single-agent and combination therapy candidates to address serious diseases such as NASH, obesity and cancer. Terns’ pipeline includes four clinical stage development programs including a THR- β agonist, an FXR agonist, a VAP-1 inhibitor, an allosteric BCR-ABL inhibitor, and a preclinical small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist program. For more information, please visit: www.ternspharma.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements about Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including those related to the Company’s expectations of timing and potential results of the Company’s clinical trials and other development activities, such as the Phase 2a combination trial of TERN-501 and TERN-101, the Phase 1 clinical program for TERN-601, and the Phase 1 clinical trial for TERN-701; the potential indications to be targeted by the Company with its single-agent and combination therapy candidates; the therapeutic potential of the Company’s single-agent and combination therapy candidates; the potential for the mechanisms of action of the Company’s product candidates to be therapeutic targets for their targeted indications; the potential utility and progress of the Company’s product candidates in their targeted indications, including the clinical utility of the data from and the endpoints used in the Company’s clinical trials; the Company’s clinical development plans and activities; the Company’s expectations regarding the profile of its product candidates, including tolerability, safety, metabolic stability and pharmacokinetic profile and potential differentiation as compared to other products or product candidates; the Company’s plans for and ability to continue to execute on its current clinical strategy; and the Company’s expectations with regard to its cash runway. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding the Company’s strategy, future financial condition, future operations, future trial results, projected costs, prospects, plans, objectives of management and expected market growth, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “design,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “predict,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and other similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events and financial trends that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results and the implementation of the Company’s plans to vary materially, including the risks associated with the initiation, cost, timing, progress, results and utility of the Company’s current and future research and development activities and preclinical studies and clinical trials. In particular, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s ability to progress with its research, development, manufacturing and regulatory efforts, including the Company’s clinical trials for its product candidates, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence at this time, such as the ultimate duration of the pandemic, travel restrictions, quarantines, social distancing and business closure requirements in the United States and in other countries, and the effectiveness of actions taken globally to contain and treat the disease. These risks are not exhaustive. For a detailed discussion of the risk factors that could affect the Company’s actual results, please refer to the risk factors identified in the Company’s SEC reports, including but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.
Contacts for Terns
Investors
Justin Ng
investors@ternspharma.com
Media
Jenna Urban
Berry & Company Public Relations
media@ternspharma.com