On March 27, 2023 Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Terns" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: TERN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of small-molecule product candidates to address serious diseases, including oncology, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and obesity today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2022 and corporate updates (Press release, Terns Pharmaceuticals, MAR 27, 2023, View Source [SID1234629390]).

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"As announced in our release earlier this month, 2023 promises to be another transformative year for Terns as we make meaningful strides to advance our pipeline of medicines to address serious unmet needs. In addition to data from our Phase 2a DUET trial in NASH, expected in the third quarter of 2023, we also anticipate key clinical readouts in 2024 from our clinical trials in chronic myeloid leukemia and obesity. We are fortunate to have a strong balance sheet to support development activities and the growth of our company into 2026," said Mark Vignola, chief financial officer of Terns.

"We look forward to having Emil join us as chief medical officer of Terns oncology, as his deep relationships and clinical development experience in hematologic and solid malignancies will be vital as we advance TERN-701 for CML and expand our oncology development team," said Sen Sundaram, chief executive officer at Terns. "Jay brings over a decade of experience across finance and biotech industries, and we are excited to have him lead our strategic business development efforts across both metabolic disease and oncology. Together, these new appointments further strengthen our senior leadership team, and we are well positioned to advance our pipeline towards three significant readouts in the next 18 months or so."

Key Leadership Appointments

Emil Kuriakose, MD will join Terns in May 2023 as chief medical officer of Terns oncology, bringing over a decade of clinical development expertise including early through late-stage development in several oncology indications. Prior to Terns, Dr. Kuriakose served as chief medical officer at Calithera Biosciences overseeing clinical development strategy and execution
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Jason Lettiere joined Terns in November 2022 as vice president of business development, bringing more than 13 years of experience in the finance and biotechnology industries

Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results

Cash Position: As of December 31, 2022, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $283.1 million as compared with $166.0 million as of December 31, 2021. Based on its current operating plan, Terns expects these funds will be sufficient to support its planned operating expenses into 2026.
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Research and Development (R&D) Expenses: R&D expenses were $10.7 million and $39.6 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, respectively, as compared with $9.5 million and $31.3 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021, respectively.
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General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses: G&A expenses were $6.2 million and $22.4 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, respectively, as compared with $5.4 million and $19.5 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021, respectively.
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Net Loss: Net loss was $15.8 million and $60.3 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, respectively, as compared with $14.2 million and $50.2 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021, respectively.
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Common Stock and Pre-Funded Warrants: As of December 31, 2022, there were 53.7 million shares of common stock and 14.6 million pre-funded warrants issued and outstanding.