Tern leukemia drug results likely to catch investor attention

Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Terns Pharmaceuticals reported an update Monday on its targeted leukemia drug that maintained and even boosted molecular response rates in advanced-stage patients. 

The study results, while still early, are likely to draw even more positive attention from investors who already view the Terns drug as a potential successor to a commercial blockbuster from Novartis. 

At 24 weeks, four escalating doses of the Terns drug, called TERN-701, achieved a major molecular response of 64% in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, a slow-growing cancer that starts in myeloid cells. The 28 patients evaluable had already experienced treatment with a median of three drugs.