Nutrasemantics, a subsidiary of the digital healthcare company Life Semantics, said it has officially entered the biopharmaceutical industry by acquiring Ceres F&D, a subsidiary of Alteogen.

Nutrasemantics held an extraordinary board meeting on Tuesday and approved the acquisition of Ceres F&D.

The contract encompasses the comprehensive business operations of antibiotics and immunosuppressant manufacturing and sales conducted by Ceres F&D. It includes everything from the factory, land, machinery, technology, and patents to research institutes. Nutrasemantics will take over all employees.

Ceres F&D, a bio-venture company, operates GMP-certified facilities with top-level production teams and quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) teams. The company produces antibiotics, including vancomycin and teicoplanin prescribed to patients infected with super bacteria, as well as immunosuppressants like tacrolimus.

It is also preparing to produce the anticancer drug everolimus, which is used to treat breast cancer and renal cancer.

Ceres F&D has also made substantial investments in the mass production and full-scale supply of immunosuppressants, dermatological ointments, and anticancer drugs. The company plans to fully utilize its capacity from early 2024.

Moving forward, Nutrasemantics plans to expand its business areas into the production of antibiotic raw materials and immunosuppressants using biological techniques, as well as research and development of anticancer drugs.

Nutrasemantics also aims to secure production capabilities for high-quality health food ingredients, such as strain development, fermentation, and high-purity refinement, and diversify its business portfolio, including anticancer drug development, to accelerate performance improvement in 2024.

Life Semantics aims to solidify its position as a healthcare company covering the entire cycle of health management by establishing subsidiaries such as Nutrasemantics and Nexus Bridge, a data-based financial and healthcare product sales company, preparing for long-term growth.

"This acquisition is expected to be a driving force that enhances the growth momentum of both Nutrasemantics and the parent company Life Semantics," Nutrasemantics CEO Lee Byung-joo said. "By utilizing the production know-how and facilities of Ceres F&D, we will expand from the existing health functional food business sector to the biopharmaceutical sector, producing high-quality key ingredients and manufacturing customized health functional foods tailored to customers' health conditions."