What L-Base does

L-Base (주식회사 엘베이스) is a South Korean clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2015 by CEO David Jeon (전도용), headquartered in Seoul with a UK office in London. The company develops first-in-class cancer-specific autophagy inhibitor drugs to overcome anticancer drug resistance, a major unsolved problem in oncology where tumors evade targeted therapies and chemotherapy. Its proprietary CAGEpep® Platform is built around the CAGE (Cancer Associated Gene / DDX53) target, a cancer-testis antigen first discovered in 2002 that is expressed in cancer tissues but absent in normal tissues, enabling selective autophagy inhibition in malignant cells while preserving autophagy function in healthy cells.

The company's pipeline includes five drug candidates: LB217 (non-small cell lung cancer, with expected efficacy in combination with EGFR TKIs such as osimertinib/Tagrisso for resistance patients), LB319 (breast cancer), LB409 (blood cancer), and LB509 (pancreatic cancer), all developed from the CAGEpep® platform. The lead asset LB217 has completed non-clinical work in Italy and is preparing an IND application for UK Phase 1 clinical trials planned for H2 2025, in collaboration with Guy's Hospital in London. The company operates with 11–50 employees and has established research collaborations with Seoul National University, Catholic University of Korea, K-Medihub, and Next & Bio (organoid-based drug evaluation).

L-Base operates a B2B licensing and co-development business model, targeting global pharmaceutical companies rather than selling products directly. The company signed a license and co-development agreement with Daewon Pharmaceutical in January 2021 for LB217, with Daewon also making a 20 billion KRW equity investment that valued L-Base at over 300 billion KRW. Total funding raised to date is approximately 100 billion KRW across a Series A (40B KRW in 2018), bridge funding (6B KRW in 2021), and the Daewon strategic investment (20B KRW). The strategy is to license out drug candidates at clinical Phase 1–2 stage. The company has received multiple Korean government recognitions including TIPS (2016), Post-TIPS (2019), Materials/Parts/Equipment Startup 100 (2022), DIPS 1000+ (2024), and the Seoul–Basel Startup Hub Acceleration Program (2024).

Name

L-Base

Legal name

주식회사 엘베이스

Website

https://l-base.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

L-Base is a South Korean clinical-stage biotech developing first-in-class cancer-specific autophagy inhibitor drugs via its proprietary CAGEpep® platform. Its lead candidate LB217 targets EGFR TKI-resistant non-small cell lung cancer and is being co-developed and licensed with Daewon Pharmaceutical.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oncology drug development (cancer therapeutics)

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Lead Optimization & Preclinical Candidate Selection (HLAIALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Target Identification & Validation Platforms (omics-driven, chemoproteomics, genetic validation) (HLAAAIAI)

Keywords

• Oncology drug development
• Autophagy inhibitor drugs
• Anticancer therapeutics
• Cancer drug discovery
• Biotech licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Licensing and Co-development Revenue: L-Base generates revenue through licensing deals and co-development agreements with pharmaceutical companies. The company signed a license and co-development contract with Daewon Pharmaceuticals for LB-217 in January 2021. The strategy is to license out at clinical phase 1-2, with potential for technology transfer or co-research expansion.
2. Investment Capital: Pre-revenue biotech company funded through venture capital rounds including Series A (40 billion KRW in 2018) and bridge funding (6 billion KRW in 2021). Received 20 billion KRW investment from Daewon Pharmaceuticals through a paid-increase capital increase.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

L-Base develops first-in-class, cancer-specific autophagy inhibitor drug candidates built on its proprietary CAGEpep® platform. Its pipeline includes LB217 (non-small cell lung cancer), LB319 (breast cancer), LB409 (blood cancer), and LB509 (pancreatic cancer), with lead asset LB-217 licensed and co-developed with Daewon Pharmaceutical to overcome EGFR TKI resistance in NSCLC. Revenue is generated by licensing and co-developing these drug candidates with pharmaceutical partners rather than selling them directly.

Product overview

L-Base is a biotech company specializing in first-in-class cancer drug development based on its proprietary CAGEpep® Platform technology. The company develops a pipeline of drug candidates (LB217, LB319, LB409, LB509) targeting various cancer types through cancer-specific autophagy inhibition. The CAGEpep® Platform serves as the core technology enabling the discovery and development of these peptide-based therapeutics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CAGEpep®: L-Base's core technology platform for cancer-specific autophagy inhibitor drug discovery, utilizing NanoBRET screening system to identify drug candidates that inhibit CAGE protein interactions

Products and services

• LB217 Lead autophagy inhibitor drug candidate targeting CAGE for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); designed to overcome anticancer drug resistance, including EGFR TKI resistance, by selectively inhibiting autophagy in cancer cells while maintaining normal cell function. Licensed and co-developed with Daewon Pharmaceutical.
• LB319 Autophagy inhibitor drug candidate for breast cancer developed using the CAGEpep® platform technology.
• LB409 Autophagy inhibitor drug candidate for blood cancer (hematologic malignancy) developed using the CAGEpep® platform technology.
• LB509 Autophagy inhibitor drug candidate for pancreatic cancer developed using the CAGEpep® platform technology.

Quantifiable outcome

• Preclinical studies showed significant tumor growth inhibition in lung cancer cell lines when LB-217 was combined with EGFR TKIs (osimertinib and erlotinib) compared to control groups.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Next & Bio (넥스트앤바이오)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 September 2023MOU for joint research using organoid (organoid) based drug evaluation technology. Collaborating to evaluate efficacy of LB217 using cancer organoids cultured from lung and colorectal cancer patient specimens. Data to be used for accelerating global innovative drug development.
• K-Medihub (케이메디허브)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 September 2022Joint research collaboration through '22 Synthetic Drug Industry-Academia-Research Linkage Support Project. Project runs from 2022 to 2027 to support early pipeline maturation and commercialization linkage for domestic drug development organizations.
• Daewon Pharmaceutical (대원제약)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 January 2021License and co-development agreement for LB-217 non-small cell lung cancer treatment. Daewon Pharmaceutical invested 20 billion KRW in L-Base through paid-increase capital increase. Joint development focuses on overcoming EGFR TKI resistance in NSCLC patients through cancer-specific autophagy inhibition.
• Guy's Hospital (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical collaboration for European Phase 1 clinical trial of LB217. L-Base plans to enter European Phase 1 clinical trials in H1 2024 (now planned for H2 2025) in collaboration with Guy's Hospital research team in London.
• Catholic University of Korea (가톨릭대)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPDX (Patient-Derived Xenograft) model research collaboration for preclinical evaluation of drug candidates.
• Seoul National University (서울대)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiomarker research collaboration for biomarker discovery and validation related to CAGE and autophagy in cancer patients.
• Seoul Biohub (서울바이오허브)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner in 2024 Seoul-Basel Startup Hub Acceleration Program supporting European market entry for Korean biotech startups. Collaboration with Swiss Basel University and Basel Innovation.
• Genexis (젠엑시스)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerAccelerator hosting 2024 Closed IR Day where L-Base presented to 30+ investment professionals including LSK, InterVest, and SI investors for biotech companies.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Deciphera Pharmaceuticals: Acquired by Bayer in 2022, Deciphera developed oncology drugs targeting resistance mechanisms, including QINLOCK (ripretinib) for GIST. Highly comparable as a small-cap oncology company focused on overcoming cancer drug resistance with novel mechanisms.
• Mirati Therapeutics: Acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2024, Mirati developed targeted oncology therapies including KRAZATI (adagrasib) for KRAS-mutant NSCLC — directly relevant to L-Base's NSCLC and resistance-overcoming focus.
• Erasca: Clinical-stage precision oncology company targeting the MAPK pathway with first-in-class mechanisms. Similar profile to L-Base as a small-cap biotech developing differentiated oncology candidates targeting resistance.
• Theseus Pharmaceuticals: Developed pan-variant kinase inhibitors to overcome cancer resistance mutations in EGFR, including THE-630 for GIST. Directly comparable as a small-cap oncology company focused on resistance mechanisms.
• Black Diamond Therapeutics: Clinical-stage precision oncology company developing MasterKey therapies targeting cancer resistance mutations. Comparable as a small-cap biotech with first-in-class oncology candidates addressing resistance.
• CASI Pharmaceuticals: Biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics including oncology and autophagy-related programs. Comparable to L-Base in the cancer therapeutics space.
• Aprea Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel cancer therapies that target the p53 tumor suppressor pathway. Comparable as a small-cap oncology biotech with first-in-class mechanisms.
• Forma Therapeutics: Acquired by Novo Nordisk in 2022, Forma developed therapeutics for rare hematologic diseases and cancers. Comparable to L-Base as a clinical-stage biotech developing innovative oncology candidates.

Regional players

• Hanmi Pharmaceutical: Leading Korean pharmaceutical company with a substantial oncology pipeline including targeted therapies and resistance-overcoming candidates. Comparable as a Korean-based company developing innovative oncology drugs.
• Celltrion: Major Korean biotech with biosimilars and novel biologics including oncology pipeline. Comparable as a large Korean biotech developing biologic therapeutics, though operating at a significantly larger scale than L-Base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about L-Base