Merck registers Phase 3 sotatercept HFpEF trial; Terns completes two TERN-701 Phase 1 studies

Merck's week included one newly posted Phase 3 trial and two completed early-stage studies from its Terns subsidiary.

• **MK-7962-041/CHORUS (NCT07839585)**: A Phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of sotatercept in adults with combined postcapillary and precapillary pulmonary hypertension and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is looking for other ways to treat people with combined postcapillary and precapillary pulmonary hypertension (CpcPH)¹, with the goal to learn if participants who receive sotatercept live longer without their CpcPH-HFpEF getting worse than those who receive placebo.¹ The study is not yet recruiting, plans to enroll 352 participants, and lists Time to Clinical Worsening (TTCW)¹ as its primary outcome, with estimated primary completion on 2030-01-08.
• **MK-4208-001/TERN701-1014 (NCT07838987)**: A Phase 1 study of single and multiple ascending doses of TERN-701 in healthy adults, sponsored by Terns, Inc., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., is now completed. The trial enrolled 196 participants (actual)² and reached primary completion on 2026-06-30, with cohorts examining food effects, formulation comparisons, and drug interactions with rabeprazole, a probe substrate cocktail, and itraconazole.
• **MK-4208-002/TERN701-1016 (NCT07839000)**: A Phase 1, open-label mass balance study of radiolabeled TERN-701 in healthy male participants, also sponsored by Terns, a Merck subsidiary, is now completed. The study enrolled 8 participants (actual)³ and finished on 2026-04-03, tracking excretion into urine and feces alongside standard plasma pharmacokinetic measures.