111, Inc. announced a strategic cooperation agreement with Suzhou Zelgen Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., an innovative drug R&D and production company. The agreement will allow 111 and Zelgen to build an innovative out-of-hospital, virtual management platform for liver cancer patients that integrates doctor resources, doctor-patient interaction, convenient access to medicines, and education resources. The platform will assist patients with easy-to-access online doctor consultations that provide medical diagnoses, treatment options, follow-ups, as well as providing information on diseases, medications and therapies.

Liver cancer has become the second most fatal cancer in China. According to data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020, about 4.6 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in China, with about 410,000 of those cases being liver cancer. Out of 3 million cancer deaths in 2020, about 390,000 were from liver cancer, second only to lung cancer.

In June 2021, Zelgen's independently developed drug, Donafenib Tosylate (trade name: Zeprosyn®), secured regulatory approval from China'sNational Medical Products Association (NMPA) for treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. Zeprosyn® serves as a new front-line treatment option for patients who have not yet received systemic treatment, and will be distributed through 111's new collaborative virtual platform.