CL Bio, a local biopharmaceutical firm, said Monday that it has acquired all essential patents for culturing and composing Ceriporia Lamaritus, a substance that significantly improves antidiabetic functions.

Ceriporia Lamaritus, also known as CL-K1, is a bio-substance with a 40-fold increase in antidiabetic efficacy compared to existing Ceriporia Lacerata. The company developed the substance after spending 2 billion won ($1.7 million) in research and development for three years.

“Ceriporia Lamaritus has the characteristics of low-temperature strains with up to 40 times higher functional content such as 5-dihydro ergosterol and demethoxycurcumin (DMC), which are effective ingredients for controlling blood sugar and anti-diabetes, than that of existing Ceriporia Lacerata,” the company said.

Also, the growth rate is two days faster than Lacerata, while the culture success rate is close to 100 percent, it added.

The company said it plans to accelerate the development of anti-diabetic drugs as it has acquired the entire core patents related to Ceriporia Lamaritus, and will also launch commercial anti-diabetic health food products, which are comparatively easy to license, into the domestic market in the first half of next year.

“Ceriporia Lamaritus cultures are much more effective than conventional Lacerata, and they are also considered to be a biomaterial that has high efficacy and economic benefits as it produces many active ingredients that are not present in Lacerata,” CL BIO CEO Choi Jong-baek said. “Our company plans to expand the mass production facilities for Lamaritus and apply them to functional health food and hygiene product while accelerating the development of diabetes treatment.”