The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety will support small and midsize pharmaceutical companies that challenge existing drug patents.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said on May 11 that it will recruit participating corporations and consulting institutions for the "2026 drug patent response strategy consulting support program" until June 7.
The program supports small and midsize pharmaceutical companies in overcoming patent barriers and moving to develop and launch drugs by seeking invalidation trials or asserting noninfringement against existing drug patents.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety plans to select up to nine corporations this year and provide patent strategy consulting, including domestic and overseas patent searches and presenting research and development directions based on patent analysis. It will provide up to 30 million won per corporation.
Eligible applicants are small and midsize pharmaceutical companies with an average sales revenue of 180 billion won or less over the past two years.
Participating corporations can either designate a consulting institution such as a patent law firm and apply directly, or apply using a list of registered performing institutions provided by the program.
Since 2016, the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety has run a support program to strengthen small and midsize pharmaceutical companies' patent response capabilities. To date, it has provided patent consulting for 61 corporations and 104 projects.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said, "There have been cases where participating corporations obtained priority marketing authorization through patent challenges," and added, "We will continue to pursue policies that provide practical help to the pharmaceutical industry."