As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 23, 2021

Registration No. 333-            

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

ORIC PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

240 E. Grand Ave, 2^nd Floor

South San Francisco, CA 94080

(650) 388-5600

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

2020 Equity Incentive Plan

(Full title of the plan)

Jacob M. Chacko, M.D.

President and Chief Executive Officer

ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

240 E. Grand Ave, 2^nd Floor

South San Francisco, CA 94080

(650) 388-5600

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS

The information specified in Item 1 and Item 2 of Part I of Form S-8 is omitted from this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) in accordance with the provisions of Rule 428 under the Securities Act and the introductory note to Part I of Form S-8. The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be delivered to the participants in the equity benefit plans covered by this Registration Statement as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Registrant”) hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the following documents previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”):

(1) The Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the Commission on March 23, 2021 pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”);

(2) All other reports filed with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the Registrant’s Annual Report referred to in (1) above; and

(3) The description of the Registrant’s Common Stock contained in the Company’s Registration Statement on Form 8-A (File No 001-39269) filed with the Commission on April 20, 2020, pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

All documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act on or after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement that indicates that all securities offered have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such documents; provided, however, that documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the Commission shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed document which also is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Not applicable.

The validity of the issuance of the shares of the Registrant’s common stock has been passed upon by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. (“WSGR”). Certain members of, investment partnerships comprised of members of, and persons associated with WSGR own an aggregate of 16,562 shares of the Registrant’s common stock.

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law empowers a corporation to indemnify its directors and officers and to purchase insurance with respect to liability arising out of their capacity or status as directors and officers, provided that the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in our best interests, and, with respect to any criminal action, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s actions were unlawful. The Delaware General Corporation Law further provides that the indemnification permitted thereunder shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which the directors and officers may be entitled under the corporation’s bylaws, any agreement, a vote of stockholders or otherwise. The Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant provides for the indemnification of the Registrant’s directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted

under the Delaware General Corporation Law. In addition, the Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant require the Registrant to fully indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding (whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative) by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of the Registrant, or is or was a director or officer of the Registrant serving at the Registrant’s request as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorney’s fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.    

Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to provide in its certificate of incorporation that a director of the corporation shall not be personally liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except (1) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (2) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (3) for payments of unlawful dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions or (4) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. The Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant provides that the Registrant’s directors shall not be personally liable to it or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director and that if the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of the Registrant’s directors shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as so amended.

Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides, among other things, that a director who willfully or negligently approves of an unlawful payment of dividends or an unlawful stock purchase or redemption may be held liable for such actions. A director who was either absent when the unlawful actions were approved, or dissented at the time, may avoid liability by causing his or her dissent to such actions to be entered in the books containing minutes of the meetings of the board of directors at the time such action occurred or immediately after such absent director receives notice of the unlawful acts.

As permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, the Registrant has entered into separate indemnification agreements with each of the Registrant’s directors and certain of the Registrant’s officers which require the Registrant, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities which may arise by reason of their status as directors, officers or certain other employees.

The Registrant expects to obtain and maintain insurance policies under which its directors and officers are insured, within the limits and subject to the limitations of those policies, against certain expenses in connection with the defense of, and certain liabilities which might be imposed as a result of, actions, suits or proceedings to which they are parties by reason of being or having been directors or officers. The coverage provided by these policies may apply whether or not the Registrant would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under the provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law.

These indemnification provisions and the indemnification agreements entered into between the Registrant and the Registrant’s officers and directors may be sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of the Registrant’s officers and directors for liabilities (including reimbursement of expenses incurred) arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Not applicable.

Provided, however, that paragraphs (A)(1)(i) and (A)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement on Form S-8 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of South San Francisco, California, on March 23, 2021.

Power of attorney

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Jacob Chacko, M.D. and Dominic Piscitelli as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution, for him or her and in their name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Registration Statement and any and all amendments thereto (including post-effective amendments), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact, and agents or any of them, or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement on Form S-8 has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Exhibit 5.1

March 23, 2021

ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

240 E. Grand Ave, 2^nd Floor

South San Francisco, CA 94080

(650) 388-5600

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have examined the Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) to be filed by ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation, with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about the date hereof, in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, of 1,833,620 shares of Common Stock (the “Shares”) reserved for issuance pursuant to the 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”).

On the basis of the foregoing, and in reliance thereon, we are of the opinion that the Shares, when issued and sold in the manner referred to in the Plan and pursuant to the agreements that accompany the Plan, will be legally and validly issued, fully paid, and nonassessable.

We consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, and further consent to the use of our name wherever appearing in the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto.

Exhibit 23.1

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors

ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:

We consent to the use of our report incorporated by reference herein.

/s/ KPMG LLP

San Diego, California

March 23, 2021