What Terns Pharmaceuticals does

Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Foster City (also referenced as San Mateo), California, that developed oral small-molecule therapies for chronic diseases spanning oncology and metabolic disorders. The company's pipeline comprised four investigational assets: TERN-701, a novel allosteric BCR::ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor in Phase 1/2 development (CARDINAL trial) for adults with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have failed two or more prior tyrosine kinase inhibitors; TERN-601, an oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist in first-in-human studies for obesity; TERN-501, a highly selective thyroid hormone receptor β agonist that completed a Phase 2a trial (DUET) in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) as monotherapy and in combination with TERN-101; and TERN-101, a nonsteroidal farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist evaluated in the same DUET trial. TERN-701 received FDA Orphan Drug Designation in March 2024 and FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation in April 2026.

Terns operated a pre-commercial business model with no approved products and no product revenue. The company funded operations entirely through public equity financings, completing cumulative gross proceeds of approximately $865 million across four public offerings (August 2022 ~$65 million, September 2024 ~$150 million, December 2025 $650 million), following earlier venture financing rounds from investors including Deerfield, Eli Lilly, Lilly Asia Ventures, OrbiMed, Vivo Capital, and Decheng Capital. Its go-to-market motion centered on scientific engagement and clinical evidence generation rather than commercial sales: medical affairs outreach, peer-reviewed publications (including Nature Medicine, June 2025), and presentations at major hematology, oncology, diabetes, and hepatology congresses (ASH, SOHO, EHA, ADA, EASD, EASL, AASLD, Keystone).

On March 25, 2026, Merck & Co. announced a definitive agreement to acquire Terns for approximately $6.7 billion ($53.00 per share in cash), and the transaction closed on May 5, 2026, with approximately 86.36% of shares validly tendered, making Terns a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck. The acquisition provided Merck access to the full pipeline, with the strategic rationale linked to expanding Merck's oncology and hematology pipeline ahead of Keytruda's patent expiration in 2028. Prior to acquisition, Amy L. Burroughs served as CEO; Andrew Gengos served as CFO (departing after the acquisition).

Name

Terns Pharmaceuticals

Legal name

Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Website

https://ternspharma.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Terns Pharmaceuticals was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral small-molecule therapies for chronic myeloid leukemia, obesity, and MASH. Its lead asset TERN-701 received FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation. Terns was acquired by Merck & Co. in May 2026 for ~$6.7 billion.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical-Stage Biopharmaceuticals

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Genetic & Genomic Rare Disease Therapeutics (HLAIAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hematology Specialty Pharmaceuticals (Non-malignant) (HLAIACAI), Endocrinology & Reproductive Health Pharmaceuticals (incl. Women’s Health) (HLAIAAAJ)

Keywords

• Small molecule therapeutics
• Tyrosine kinase inhibitors
• Chronic myeloid leukemia
• GLP-1 receptor agonists
• Liver disease treatments

Headquarters

HQ city

Foster City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pre-commercial Pipeline / No Revenue: Terns Pharmaceuticals was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with no approved products and no commercial revenue at the time of its acquisition. The company was entirely dependent on public equity financings and ultimately a strategic acquisition to fund its R&D operations. All value was derived from the clinical development stage of its pipeline candidates.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Terns Pharmaceuticals was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of oral small-molecule drug candidates targeting chronic myeloid leukemia (TERN-701, an allosteric BCR::ABL1 inhibitor), obesity (TERN-601, an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist), and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis or MASH (TERN-501, a selective THR-β agonist, and TERN-101, a nonsteroidal FXR agonist). The company had no approved or commercially marketed products, with all candidates in investigational stages of clinical development.

Product overview

Terns Pharmaceuticals was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing oral therapies for liver diseases and cancer. The company developed a pipeline of drug candidates including TERN-701 (an allosteric BCR::ABL1 inhibitor for chronic myeloid leukemia), TERN-601 (a GLP-1 receptor agonist for obesity), TERN-501 (a thyroid hormone receptor β agonist for MASH), and TERN-101 (an FXR agonist for MASH). Effective May 5, 2026, Terns Pharmaceuticals became a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TERN-701 Investigational oral allosteric BCR::ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor in Phase 1/2 CARDINAL clinical development for adults with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in chronic phase who have failed at least two prior tyrosine kinase inhibitors, including those with T315I resistance mutation.
• TERN-601 Investigational oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist in clinical development for the treatment of obesity, with no effect of food or proton pump inhibitors on pharmacokinetics observed in first-in-human studies.
• TERN-501 Investigational highly selective thyroid hormone receptor β (THR-β) agonist that completed a Phase 2a DUET clinical trial for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), demonstrating significant reductions in MRI-based liver fat content and fibroinflammation as monotherapy and in combination with TERN-101.
• TERN-101 Investigational nonsteroidal farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist evaluated in combination with TERN-501 in the Phase 2a DUET trial for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), demonstrating combinatorial effects on liver fat and fibrosis markers.

Quantifiable outcome

• TERN-701 Phase 1/2 CARDINAL trial: Major molecular response and deep molecular response rates at week 24 in patients with previously treated CML; majority of adverse events were low grade with a favorable safety profile.
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Merck & Co., Inc. (MSD outside US and Canada)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2026Merck & Co. announced a definitive agreement on March 25, 2026, to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals for approximately $6.7 billion ($53.00 per share in cash), acquiring all outstanding shares through a cash tender offer. The acquisition was completed on May 5, 2026, making Terns a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck. Merck gained access to Terns' full pipeline including TERN-701 (allosteric BCR::ABL1 inhibitor for CML), TERN-601 (oral GLP-1 RA for obesity), TERN-501 (THR-β agonist for MASH), and TERN-101 (FXR agonist for MASH). The deal supported Merck's strategy to expand its oncology and hematology pipeline ahead of Keytruda's patent expiration in 2028.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Novartis: Novartis markets asciminib (Scemblix), the FDA-approved allosteric BCR::ABL1 inhibitor that directly competes with TERN-701 in chronic myeloid leukemia. Both companies target the same allosteric binding site and the same 2L+ CML patient population.
• Madrigal Pharmaceuticals: Madrigal developed resmetirom (Rezdiffra), the first FDA-approved THR-β agonist for MASH — the same mechanism class as TERN-501. Both companies target metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis with selective thyroid hormone receptor β agonism.
• Akero Therapeutics: Akero is developing efruxifermin (an Fc-FGF21 analog) for MASH, directly competing with Terns' TERN-501 in the metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis indication. Both companies target late-stage MASH with novel mechanisms.

Broad incumbents

• Eli Lilly: Lilly is a prior Terns investor (Lilly Asia Ventures participated in 2018 and 2021 rounds) and develops orforglipron, an oral small molecule GLP-1 RA that directly competes with TERN-601, plus dominant injectable incretins (Mounjaro/Zepbound). Comparable in metabolic and obesity pipeline focus.
• Pfizer: Pfizer developed danuglipron, an oral small molecule GLP-1 RA that competed directly with Terns' TERN-601 in obesity. Both companies target oral administration as the key differentiator vs. injectable peptide GLP-1s.

Emerging players

• Structure Therapeutics: Structure Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech developing oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonists for obesity, directly competing with Terns' TERN-601. Both companies target the same oral GLP-1 differentiation vs. injectable peptide incumbents.
• Viking Therapeutics: Viking Therapeutics is a clinical-stage metabolic biotech developing oral and injectable obesity/MASH therapies, including VK2735 (GLP-1/GIP) and an oral formulation. Comparable pipeline breadth and focus on cardiometabolic disease overlap with Terns' TERN-501 and TERN-601.
• Syndax Pharmaceuticals: Syndax is a clinical-stage small molecule oncology biotech with a comparable capitalization profile to Terns prior to acquisition and a similar model of developing differentiated targeted therapies. Both companies share a small-team, clinical-stage biotech operational profile.
• Nuvalent: Nuvalent is a clinical-stage precision oncology biotech developing next-generation kinase inhibitors with novel binding modes — directly analogous to Terns' allosteric BCR::ABL1 approach with TERN-701. Both companies emphasize mechanism-based differentiation from approved kinase inhibitors.
• Deciphera Pharmaceuticals: Deciphera was a clinical-stage small molecule oncology biotech that developed novel kinase inhibitors and was acquired by Bayer for ~$2.4B in 2021. Comparable development-stage model and kinase inhibitor focus to Terns, with prior strategic-acquisition precedent.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TernsPharma
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ternspharmaceuticals

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Terns Pharmaceuticals