What One Curegen does

One Curegen (원큐어젠, 주식회사) is a pre-revenue, clinical-stage Korean biopharmaceutical company founded in July 2020 as a joint venture between the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) and iCureBNP, combining KRIBB's novel anticancer target discovery with iCureBNP's oral drug delivery technology. It operates as a majority-owned subsidiary of iCure (KOSDAQ: 175250), with iCureBNP holding 55.2% and KRIBB holding 14.4%, and is headquartered at the KRIBB Venture Complex in Daejeon with an additional Seoul R&D center at iCure Tower in Gangnam-gu. The company is the 1,000th INNOPOLIS research institute spin-off certified by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The company's pipeline consists of three first-in-class anticancer candidates built around proprietary biology and delivery technology: OCG-01-0713 (a VGLL1-TEAD4 interaction-inhibiting peptide targeting progressive gastric cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lung cancer); OCG-01-1564 (a small-molecule HIF-1α degradation agent for liver, blood, kidney, and pancreatic cancers); and OCG-01-2020 (an antisense oligonucleotide / PROTAC targeting SYT11 in diffuse-type gastric cancer, in-licensed from KRIBB and Yonsei University College of Medicine in June 2023 along with 8 companion diagnostic biomarkers). Underpinning the pipeline is a proprietary oral peptide drug delivery system combining iCureBNP's IBE-CK bile acid-based bio-absorption technology with cell-penetrating peptides, which reportedly increases peptide drug efficacy approximately 20-fold in preclinical studies and is positioned as the foundation for a potential world-first oral peptide anticancer drug.

One Curegen pursues a B2B licensing and technology transfer business model, targeting global pharmaceutical companies for out-licensing or co-development of pipeline assets and companion diagnostics rather than direct commercialization. Revenue is expected to materialize through milestone-based licensing deals, accelerated regulatory pathways (Fast Track, Orphan Drug, Breakthrough Therapy designations for rare and intractable cancers), and long-term global development partnerships. To date the company has raised approximately 50.5 billion KRW (~USD 38 million) in Series A funding at a ~240 billion KRW post-money valuation (December 2021), supplemented by over 6.7 billion KRW in government grants and inclusion in the 4-year 64 billion KRW BIG Leading Model Project, providing multi-year runway to advance the pipeline.

Name

One Curegen

Legal name

원큐어젠 주식회사

Website

https://onecuregen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

One Curegen is a pre-revenue Korean biotech developing first-in-class anticancer drugs across peptide, small-molecule, and ASO/PROTAC modalities, combined with a proprietary oral peptide drug delivery platform, targeting global pharmaceutical licensing partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oncology Biopharmaceuticals

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Drug Discovery (Target ID/Validation & Hit Discovery) (HLAIALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Predictive Biomarkers for Therapy Selection (response/non-response stratification) (HLAAAMAE), Therapeutic Peptides & Protein/Peptide Biologics (HLAAAAAH), Translational & Pharmacodynamic Biomarkers (MOA, target engagement, PD/PK-linked markers) (HLAAAMAD)

Keywords

• Anticancer drug development
• Peptide therapeutics
• Oral drug delivery
• Companion diagnostics
• Biomarker discovery

Headquarters

HQ city

Daejeon

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Licensing and Technology Transfer: Pre-revenue biotech company. Primary expected revenue pathway is licensing deals and technology transfers of developed anticancer drug candidates to global pharmaceutical companies. The company pursues accelerated regulatory approval (Fast Track, Orphan Drug/Breakthrough Therapy designation) for rare and intractable cancers to achieve near-term licensing revenue, followed by long-term revenue from global drug development partnerships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

One Curegen develops first-in-class targeted anticancer drug candidates across peptide (VGLL1-TEAD4 inhibitor OCG-01-0713), small-molecule (HIF-1α degrader OCG-01-1564), and ASO/PROTAC (SYT11-directed OCG-01-2020) modalities, paired with a proprietary oral peptide drug delivery system (IBE-CK plus cell-penetrating peptides) and biomarker-based companion diagnostics for patient stratification in rare and intractable cancers.

Product overview

One Curegen (원큐어젠) is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in first-in-class global anticancer drug development. The company's pipeline includes three main candidates: OCG-01-0713 (VGLL1 peptide drug), OCG-01-1564 (HIF-1α small molecule), and OCG-01-2020 (SYT11 ASO/PROTAC). These are supported by core technology platforms including proprietary oral peptide drug delivery systems (IBE-CK and cell-penetrating peptides), VGLL1-TEAD4 interaction inhibition technology, HIF-1α degradation technology, and biomarker-based companion diagnostics. The company combines KRIBB's anticancer drug development technology with iCureBNP's drug delivery technology to develop targeted therapies for unmet medical needs in cancer treatment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OCG-01-0713 Peptide-based anticancer drug candidate (VGLL1-TEAD4 interaction inhibitor) targeting cancer cell proliferation and metastasis in progressive gastric, triple-negative breast, pancreatic, and lung cancers; intended for out-licensing to pharmaceutical partners.
• OCG-01-1564 Small-molecule anticancer drug candidate that promotes degradation of intracellular HIF-1α protein by suppressing mitochondrial electron transport for solid tumors under hypoxic conditions; intended for out-licensing to pharmaceutical partners.
• OCG-01-2020 ASO/PROTAC anticancer drug candidate targeting SYT11 for diffuse-type gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer, in-licensed alongside 8 SYT11 companion diagnostic biomarkers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Oral delivery technology reportedly increases drug efficacy approximately 20-fold compared to non-formulated peptides (based on CPP delivery testing in preclinical studies).
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• Yonsei University College of Medicine (연세대학교 의과대학)coreTechnology or Integration · 2 June 2023Joint developer of SYT11 technology with KRIBB, in-licensed by One Curegen in June 2023 for approximately 340 billion KRW. The technology covers diffuse-type gastric cancer-targeted antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drug candidate (SYT-11-ASO) and 8 companion diagnostic biomarkers. Developed through RNA sequencing analysis of 527 Korean gastric cancer patients.
• Cursus Bio (커서스바이오)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2022Affiliate company of iCure that presented together with One Curegen at the 2022 K-BD Group Bio Venture Forum. Developing micro-needle and bullet formulation pharmaceuticals. Both companies are presenting their respective platforms (peptide anticancer drugs from One Curegen, micro-needle delivery from Cursus Bio) under the iCure umbrella.
• Dongguk University College of Pharmacy (동국대 약대)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2022MOU for joint research and cultivation of pharmaceutical and bioindustry talent. Covers joint research and technology transfer, mutual technical exchange and information sharing. One Curegen received technology transfer of HIF-1 targeted anticancer agent from Professor Lee Kyung of Dongguk University, jointly researched with KRIBB. Peptide stability research is conducted with Professor Kim Young-woo, and drug delivery research with Professor Han Hyo-gyeong.
• Ewha Womans University College of Pharmacy (이화여대 약대)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 April 2022Academic-industry cooperation agreement covering joint research between university faculty and company researchers, advisory on university curricula, student internship programs, exchange of latest industry information, and shared facility usage. One Curegen CTO Won Misun and Dr. Hwang In-ah are alumni of Ewha Womans University College of Pharmacy.
• SYP Co., Ltd. (SYP 엑셀러레이터)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 29 December 2021SYP participated in establishing One Curegen alongside iCure (iCureBNP parent). SYP Accelerator provides planning and business model construction support (4.1% ownership). Involved in the BIG Leading Model Project consortium for intellectual property, regulatory strategy, and initial investment design.
• Korea University Guro Hospital (고려대학교 구로병원)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 October 2020MOU signed for joint research and development of peptide anticancer drugs. The partnership covers clinical advice, animal experiment evaluation, and regulatory technical guidance for MFDS, FDA, EMEA, and CFDA submissions. Korea University Guro Hospital was designated as a Research-Centered Hospital by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2020, supporting R&D project leadership.
• iCureBNP (아이큐어비앤피)coreTechnology or Integration · 13 July 2020iCureBNP is the parent company holding 55.2% of One Curegen's shares. It provides oral drug delivery technology (IBE-CK bile acid-based system and cell-penetrating peptides) that forms the core of One Curegen's platform for developing oral peptide anticancer drugs. One Curegen was established by combining iCureBNP's drug delivery technology with KRIBB's anticancer drug development technology.
• KRIBB (Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 한국생명공학연구원)coreTechnology or Integration · 13 July 2020KRIBB is a co-founder of One Curegen, holding 14.4% equity. It provides core anticancer drug development technology including novel target discovery (VGLL1, SYT11), peptide synthesis, and biomarker identification capabilities. KRIBB researchers developed the HIF-1α degradation technology and the VGLL1-TEAD4 interaction inhibitor technology that One Curegen has licensed.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Arvinas: US clinical-stage biotech pioneering PROTAC protein degrader technology for oncology. Closest direct comp to One Curegen's SYT11 PROTAC program in modality and therapeutic area.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals: US biotech leader in antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drug discovery and development, with multiple oncology programs. Comparable in ASO modality and licensing-out business model.
• Bridge Biotherapeutics: Korean clinical-stage biotech developing novel therapeutics for cancer and fibrotic diseases. Comparable as a Korean biotech pursuing innovative mechanisms with licensing-driven business model.
• Oramed Pharmaceuticals: US clinical-stage biotech developing oral delivery technology for peptide-based therapeutics. Closest direct comp to One Curegen's IBE-CK + CPP oral peptide DDS platform in technology and modality.
• LegoChem Biosciences: Korean clinical-stage biotech developing antibody-drug conjugates and other novel oncology therapeutics. Comparable as a Korean biotech at similar development stage focused on first-in-class cancer modalities.
• Vivace Therapeutics: Clinical-stage US biotech developing first-in-class TEAD inhibitors for cancers driven by the Hippo pathway. Closest direct comp to One Curegen's VGLL1-TEAD4 peptide program; comparable modality (small-molecule) targeting same biology.
• Foghorn Therapeutics: US clinical-stage biotech developing medicines targeting chromatin regulatory dysregulation in cancer, including TEAD inhibitors. Comparable in targeting novel cancer biology with platform approach to first-in-class oncology drugs.

Regional players

• Helixmith: Korean clinical-stage biotech developing gene therapies and biologics with a focus on oncology and rare diseases. Comparable as a Korean biotech at similar development stage with licensing-driven commercialization model.
• Genexine: Korean clinical-stage biotech developing novel immunotherapies and antibody therapeutics. Comparable as a Korean biotech of similar scale pursuing innovative oncology modalities.

Broad incumbents

• Yuhan Corporation: Korean established pharmaceutical company with a growing oncology pipeline and licensing partnerships with global biotechs. Relevant as a potential acquirer/licensing partner and comparable Korean oncology player at larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors6 records

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about One Curegen