Tern leukemia drug results likely to catch investor attention

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.

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