Patent Office Sees Surge in Trademark Applications for Infectious Disease Diagnostics and Therapeutics

Trends in Trademark Applications Related to Virus Diagnosis and Therapeutics. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] As the development of diagnostic reagents, vaccines, and therapeutics related to viral infectious disease diagnosis and treatment accelerates in the domestic pharmaceutical industry, trademark applications related to these areas are also increasing significantly.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 26th, trademark applications related to viral diseases averaged around 20 cases per year before 2015, but from 2016 to 2019, they increased sharply to over 150 cases annually.

In particular, before 2015, diagnostic reagents accounted for 99 cases (76%) of trademark applications related to viral diagnostics and therapeutics, which was more than therapeutics with 31 cases (24%). However, since 2016, therapeutics have accounted for 379 cases (59%), surpassing diagnostic reagents with 260 cases (41%), indicating a growing focus on therapeutic development recently.

Regarding the status of trademark applicants, domestic companies accounted for the largest share with 728 cases (91%), followed by individuals with 50 cases (6%), foreign companies with 17 cases (2%), and university-industry cooperation foundations with 6 cases (1%).

By company, Chong Kun Dang had the most with 41 cases, followed by CL Bio with 36 cases, AlBio with 33 cases, and Celltrion with 28 cases.

Moon Sam-seop, Director of the Trademark Design Examination Bureau at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, stated, "The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to continue for some time, and the development of vaccines and therapeutics is urgently required." He added, "Considering the recent global interest in 'K-Bio (Korean bio industry),' trademark applications related to infectious disease diagnosis and treatment are also expected to steadily increase."