1cBio and Lee's Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited Enter into Exclusive Licensing Agreement to Develop and Commercialize 1cBio's PARP1 Inhibitor OC-3 for Oncology in Greater China and Southeast Asia
OC-3 is a potentially best-in-class PARP1 inhibitor for cancers that are defective in DNA homologous recombination repair
1cBio to receive up to US$27 million in upfront, development and potential sales milestone payments
SAN FRANCISCO and HONG KONG, Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- 1cBio, a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative therapies for serious and underserved conditions including oncology and metabolic diseases, and Lee's Pharmaceutical Holdings Ltd. ("Lee's Pharm"), today announced that the companies have entered into a licensing agreement granting Lee's Pharm exclusive rights to develop and commercialize 1cBio's lead PARP1 inhibitor, OC-3, in China and certain countries in Southeast Asia. Under the terms of the agreement, 1cBio is eligible to receive an upfront payment, development milestones and potential sales milestone payments totaling up to US$27 million, as well as royalties on future net sales.
OC-3, currently in preclinical development, is a potential best-in-class PARP1 inhibitor for the treatment of cancers that are defective in DNA homologous recombination repair. These cancer types include predominately prostate, ovarian, breast and pancreatic cancers with known mutations in DNA repair genes such as BRCA1, BRCA2 or PALB2. In preclinical models of cancers known to have DNA repair deficiency of this kind, OC-3 demonstrated potent anticancer activities.
"This agreement with Lee's Pharm provides 1cBio a valued China-based drug development and commercialization partner for OC-3," said Andrew Protter, PhD, CEO of 1cBio. "With Lee's Pharm, 1cBio collaborates with a team that has a robust oncology group, strong manufacturing capabilities, and a proven ability to advance assets in various stages of development in Asia. This partnership will provide valuable resources as we work toward filing an IND in the U.S. and advancing OC-3 into clinical trials for patients with solid tumors."
"We believe that OC-3's PARP1 inhibitor has the potential to become an important new treatment option for patients with cancer, with a differentiated profile that may offer meaningful improvements in both safety and efficacy," said Benjamin Li, Founder and Director of Lee's Pharm. "We are pleased to enter into this collaborative development agreement with 1cBio and look forward to working together to advance the program."
Lee's Pharm will be responsible for Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) safety studies and manufacturing activities required to gain regulatory approval for OC-3 in China and the other Southeast Asian territories included in the license. A drug supply manufacturing agreement is also included.
As part of the agreement, 1cBio will have rights to access and use any data generated as part of its efforts to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
About 1cBio
1cBio is an emerging biotech company focused on discovering and developing innovative therapies for serious and underserved diseases, with an emphasis on oncology, metabolic disorders, and conditions with limited or inadequate treatment options. The management team brings decades of pharmaceutical industry experience with a proven track record of identifying high-potential targets and rapidly advancing small-molecule programs from discovery to clinical development. 1cBio's initial program is a potential first oral therapy for hypophosphatasia (HPP) in an ongoing Phase 1/2a clinical trial conducted by a development partner. The Company's second program, OC-3, is a potential best-in-class, selective PARP1 inhibitor initially being developed for solid tumors. The Company is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, visit www.1cbio.com.
About Lee's Pharm
Lee's Pharm is a research-driven and market-oriented biopharmaceutical company with over 30 years of operation experience in the pharmaceutical industry in China. The Company is fully integrated with solid infrastructures in drug development, clinical development, regulatory, manufacturing, sales and marketing based in Mainland China with global perspectives. The Company has established extensive partnerships with numerous international companies in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and currently markets over 25 proprietary, generic and licensed-in pharmaceutical products in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Lee's Pharm focuses on several key disease therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular health, woman's health, paediatrics, rare diseases, oncology, dermatology and obstetrics. For more information, please visit www.leespharm.com.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding future results of operations, business strategy, product development, and future market opportunities, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. This release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any such offer will be made only pursuant to definitive offering documents. Furthermore, this presentation contains highly sensitive, proprietary business information and should not be reproduced or distributed to any third party without the express written consent of 1cBio, Inc.
Company Contact
Wilson W. Cheung
Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]
Investor Contact
Remy Bernada
Jenny Kobin
Investor Relations Advisory Solutions
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SOURCE 1cBio, Inc.
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