Terns Pharma Pitches CML Game-Changer at March Investor Conferences

FOSTER CITY, CA – February 25, 2026 – Terns Pharmaceuticals is set for a pivotal March, with senior management scheduled to present at four of the industry’s most influential investor conferences. The clinical-stage oncology company announced its participation today, signaling a concerted effort to engage the financial community as it advances its lead drug candidate, TERN-701, for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML).

For a company like Terns, this series of presentations is more than just a calendar entry; it's a strategic roadshow designed to translate promising clinical results into sustained investor confidence. The tour includes fireside chats at TD Cowen's Health Care Conference in Boston and the Leerink and Citizens Life Sciences conferences in Miami, along with one-on-one meetings at the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference, also in Miami. This high-profile circuit provides a critical platform to articulate the value proposition of its lead asset and its focused oncology strategy to a discerning audience of institutional investors, fund managers, and industry analysts.

A Position of Financial and Clinical Strength

Terns enters this investor blitz from a position of considerable strength, a stark contrast to many clinical-stage biotechs navigating a capital-cautious market. While the broader biotech sector is showing signs of a rebound in 2026 after a prolonged downturn, investors remain laser-focused on companies with de-risked assets, strong balance sheets, and a clear path to market. Terns appears to check all three boxes.

In December 2025, the company successfully closed a public offering that generated gross proceeds of $747.5 million. This capital infusion, combined with existing funds, resulted in an unaudited year-end cash position of approximately $1.0 billion. This formidable war chest provides a financial runway projected to last into 2031, effectively insulating the company from near-term financing pressures and allowing it to fully fund the development of TERN-701 through key milestones.

This financial stability is the bedrock upon which the company will build its narrative. Management is expected to highlight not just its cash position but also the strategic decisions that have sharpened its focus. Last year, Terns discontinued development of TERN-601 for obesity, pivoting to concentrate its resources entirely on its oncology pipeline. This decisive move is likely to be viewed favorably by investors who reward disciplined execution and a clear corporate identity.

TERN-701: The 'Best-in-Disease' Contender

The centerpiece of Terns' presentations will undoubtedly be TERN-701, an oral, allosteric BCR-ABL inhibitor with what the company calls a “potentially best-in-disease profile” for CML. The treatment landscape for CML was revolutionized by tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) like Gleevec, but challenges of resistance and side effects remain, creating a significant unmet need, particularly in patients who have failed multiple lines of therapy.

TERN-701 aims to address this gap. As an allosteric inhibitor, it binds to a different site on the BCR-ABL protein than traditional TKIs, a mechanism that may overcome common resistance mutations. The company will be armed with compelling preliminary data from its ongoing Phase 1 CARDINAL trial. At the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in December 2025, Terns presented data that was described by analysts as unprecedented. The study showed a 64% major molecular response (MMR) rate in heavily pre-treated CML patients, with that figure rising to 75% in patients receiving doses of 320mg or higher by the 24-week mark. These response rates are reportedly trending at least two times higher than those seen in other Phase 1 CML therapy studies.

Crucially, the drug has also demonstrated an encouraging safety profile, with no dose-limiting toxicities or severe treatment-related adverse events observed at therapeutically active doses. This combination of potent efficacy and favorable safety, along with the convenience of a once-daily pill, forms the basis of the 'best-in-disease' claim. The recent granting of FDA Fast Track designation in late 2025 further validates the drug's potential to address a serious unmet medical need and could expedite its path through regulatory review.

Navigating a Competitive Market

While the data is impressive, Terns is entering a lucrative but crowded market projected to surpass $9 billion in 2026 and grow to $17 billion by 2033. The CML space is dominated by pharmaceutical giants like Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Pfizer. The key to capturing market share will be clear differentiation.

Terns' strategy hinges on positioning TERN-701 as a superior option for patients who have exhausted existing treatments, including third-generation TKIs like asciminib (Scemblix). The high MMR rates in a patient population that has often failed multiple prior therapies is Terns' most powerful argument. This clinical outperformance has already caught the attention of Wall Street. In February, analysts at Leerink initiated coverage with an “Outperform” rating and a $58 price target, citing TERN-701’s potential to become a best-in-class agent and capture a significant share of a multi-billion dollar market opportunity, even in the frontline CML setting.

The March conferences will give management the opportunity to reinforce this message directly with the investment community. Through fireside chats and private meetings, they will detail the upcoming clinical and regulatory roadmap. Key milestones for 2026 include the selection of a pivotal dose for TERN-701, a planned end-of-Phase-2 meeting with the FDA, and the anticipated release of updated and expanded data from the CARDINAL trial in the second half of the year. The company aims to initiate its first pivotal trial in the second-line-plus patient population in late 2026 or early 2027, marking a critical step toward potential approval and commercialization. This clear timeline provides the tangible milestones investors need to track progress and value the company's trajectory.