SKT-SK Planet Expands Biohealth Investment with 15 Billion KRW in Cancer Diagnosis Company

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] SK Telecom is expanding its investment in bio healthcare, a promising future business, through its subsidiary SK Planet.

On the 3rd, SK Telecom and SK Planet announced that they have made equity investments in Vertis, a company possessing early breast cancer diagnosis technology, and will jointly target the global bio healthcare market through AI technology collaboration and support for overseas expansion. Vertis is a company developing next-generation medical technology based on proteomics that can diagnose major diseases such as breast cancer early with just a drop of blood. It aims to be listed on the domestic stock market by 2022.

SK Planet, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, will become the second largest shareholder by investing 15 billion KRW in Vertis as a Pre-IPO investor. Beyond simple investment, SK Planet plans to build a collaborative platform that can lead the next-generation bio industry through cooperation with Vertis in ▲ deep learning-based technology ▲ big data analysis and joint research in the healthcare field ▲ healthcare solutions and medical data expansion.

SK Telecom will also support Vertis's establishment of local subsidiaries and research institutes in the U.S., Singapore, and other locations, as well as overseas expansion, by leveraging its AI technology and global network. SK Telecom has previously selected bio healthcare investment as one of its new growth engines and has continued equity investments and partnerships with promising domestic and foreign venture companies. In March last year, it established Invites Healthcare and launched a gene testing-based healthcare service in the same year.

Synergy is expected as Vertis's bio technology is combined with AI-based big data analysis technology in the future. Vertis plans to expand its diagnostic service areas to cardiovascular diseases, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, depression, and more in cooperation with SK Telecom, SK Planet, and top domestic medical experts.

Lee Hansang, CEO of SK Planet, said, "When Vertis's technology, which has outstanding competitiveness in the proteomics field, is combined with our deep learning-based AI technology, it will greatly contribute to improving the quality of human life." Han Seungman, CEO of Vertis, said, "Thanks to the high interest in the diagnostic field after COVID-19, the value and status of proteomics companies in the global market have clearly changed within a year," adding, "We plan to accelerate our global market entry through cooperation with SK Telecom and SK Planet."