Terns Pharmaceuticals Announces Inducement Grants for New Employees

FOSTER CITY, Calif., June 03, 2024 – Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: TERN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing small molecule product candidates for serious conditions such as oncology and obesity, has announced the granting of equity inducement awards to two new employees. This action aligns with the 2022 Employment Inducement Award Plan, as amended. The equity awards received approval from the Compensation Committee of Terns' Board of Directors, in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), and serve as a material inducement for the employees accepting their roles at the company.

Scott Harris, the newly appointed Chief Development Officer, has been granted an option to purchase 475,000 shares of Terns common stock as of May 28, 2024. Additionally, another non-executive employee has been granted an option to purchase 36,000 shares of Terns common stock, effective June 1, 2024. These options come with a 10-year term. For Mr. Harris, the exercise price per share is set at $6.32, the closing price of Terns’ common stock on the date of the grant, May 28, 2024. The non-executive employee's exercise price per share is $6.01, which corresponds to the closing price on May 31, 2024, the last trading day before the grant date.

The vesting schedule for the options requires that for the non-executive employee, the vesting start date is set at May 1, 2024. The vesting process will unfold over four years, with 25% of the shares vesting on the first anniversary of the vesting start date, and 1/36th of the remaining shares vesting each month thereafter. This is contingent upon the employees continuing their service through the respective vesting dates.

Terns Pharmaceuticals is known for its pipeline of three clinical-stage development programs: an allosteric BCR-ABL inhibitor, a small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, and a THR-β agonist. The company is also actively engaged in a preclinical GIPR modulator discovery project, with the goal of prioritizing a GIPR antagonist nomination candidate. This diverse pipeline underscores Terns’ commitment to addressing significant medical conditions through innovative therapeutic approaches.