[Edaily Reporter Minji Son ] HLB innoVation(024850)is acquiring HLB Cell, a company specializing in cell and regenerative medicine. The plan is to expand its business scope into the Korean and Asian markets by adding a domestic R&D base to its cell therapy business, which has been led by its U.S. subsidiary, Verismo Therapeutics.

On the 27th, HLB innoVation announced that it would acquire the 99.30% stake in HLB Cell held by HLB Life Science and incorporate it as a subsidiary. This is part of a business restructuring initiative to realign the group’s cell therapy-related technologies and research capabilities under HLB innoVation.

HLB INC. is a company specializing in cell and regenerative medicine, possessing technologies for the isolation, culture, cryopreservation, and quality assessment of primary cells derived from humans and animals. It has also accumulated technology for producing extracellular matrices based on the culture of normal human cells. In particular, it possesses research and development as well as clinical development experience in cell-based bioartificial livers, providing a foundation for expanding its research scope into the cell therapy business in the future.

Verismo leads the development of new drug candidates, as well as global clinical trials and business development, based on the KIR-CAR platform—the core technology for CAR-T therapies—primarily in the United States. HLB Cell will be responsible for expanding Verismo’s technology and pipeline into the Asian region, leveraging its domestic R&D infrastructure. To this end, the company plans to pursue technology transfer and joint development in Asia while also utilizing its own R&D capabilities to identify a pipeline of follow-up cell therapy products.

This acquisition aligns with the HLB INC. Group’s business restructuring efforts, which aim to strengthen growth momentum by realigning capabilities around each affiliate’s core businesses. Previously, the Group consolidated its new drug development capabilities through the merger of HLB INC. and HLB Science, and strengthened its pharmaceutical distribution capabilities by acquiring Shinwa Advance through HLB PHARMACEUTICAL.

Brian Kim, CEO of HLB innoVation and Verismo, stated, “This acquisition is a strategic decision to maximize synergies by realigning the Group’s biotech assets and expertise around its core businesses,” adding, “By combining Verismo’s global new drug development capabilities with HLB Cell’s research foundation, which has been in place since 2009, HLB innoVation will establish independent business capabilities in the cell therapy field and continue to expand its business scope into Korea and Asia.”