Terns Pharmaceuticals, a Phase 2 biotech developing small molecule therapies for NASH, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering.
The company's most advanced program is TERN-101, a liver-distributed, non-bile acid FXR agonist. The company initiated a Phase 2a trial of TERN-101 in NASH patients in June 2020 and expect top-line data in the 3Q21. Its second clinical stage program, TERN-201, is a highly selective inhibitor of Vascular Adhesion Protein-1, and the company expects to initiate a Phase 1b trial in NASH patients in the 1H21 with top-line data expected in the 1H22.
The Foster City, CA-based company was founded in 2016 and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol TERN. J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Cowen are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
