Humedix said Wednesday that it would cooperate with Exostemtech to develop exosome-based therapeutics and cosmetics.

Under the accord, Humedix plans to discover areas that can use exosome therapeutics and promote joint research by considering both companies' technologies, capabilities, and business areas from various angles.

"Exosomes are a field that global biopharmaceutical companies pay attention to because they can use them for various purposes, such as therapeutics, cosmetics, and diagnosis," Humedix CEO Kim Jin-hwan said. "Exostemtech, a leading company in stem cell exosome therapy, and Humedix, which possesses technological prowess in biopolymer applications, will create synergy."

Humedix is actively promoting the introduction of external pipelines and technological exchanges with Korean and foreign bio ventures to expand business areas and secure long-term growth momentum, Kim added.

Exosomes are endoplasmic reticulums with a size of 50 to 150 nanometers secreted from cells. Exosomes contain substances such as RNA, proteins, and metabolites and have the function of restoring damaged tissue or organs.

Therefore, exosome therapeutics are receiving more attention after the medical industry started using biomarkers in disease diagnosis as such treatments are known to have superior efficacy and high safety compared to existing cell therapy products, with few side effects, the company said.

According to DBMR Research, a market research firm, the global exosome market will grow from $11.77 billion in 2021 to $31.692 billion in 2026, growing at an average annual rate of about 21.9 percent.