“SCD Pharm’s Taiwan patent not a gateway to major market approvals” [K-Bio Pulse]

This article was released as Pharm Edaily Premium Content on April 9, 2026, at 8:00 AM.

[Lim Jeong-yeo, Edaily Reporter] The domestic pharmaceutical and biotech market remained abuzz on April 8, driven largely by news surrounding Samchundang Pharm. The company’s shares, which had declined during regular trading, rebounded in the Nextrade (NXT) premarket following the announcement of a patent grant in Taiwan.

However, patent experts cautioned that whether the Taiwan patent will smoothly lead to approvals in major jurisdictions such as the United States, Europe, and Japan—all key Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) member countries—remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, IMBiologics, an antibody drug developer newly listed on the Kosdaq last month, saw investor sentiment recover after being weighed down by concerns stemming from the U.S.-Iran conflict.

SCD Pharm chart(Cred=KG Zeroin·MP Doctor)

Samchundang Pharm secures Taiwan patent via Summit Biotech

According to KG Zeroin’s MP Doctor (formerly MarketPoint), Samchundang Pharm closed down 6.55% (won 34,000) at won 485,000 during regular trading on April 8. However, after the company disclosed its Taiwan patent approval in a press release around 3 p.m., the stock rebounded in Nextrade, rising 5.97% (won 31,000) to won 550,000.

The company announced that its oral drug delivery platform, S-PASS, received a patent grant decision from the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO). The applicant is Taiwan-based Summit Biotech, described as a contract research partner.

Samchundang Pharm explained that under a comprehensive R&D agreement signed in 2018, it has fully funded all research and personnel costs and holds exclusive legal rights, including patent ownership, under the contract.

The company emphasized that the Taiwan patent validates the originality of S-PASS within the global regulatory framework. It also highlighted that this case an example of how amendments and additional explanations at individual national examination stage can succesfully lead to patent registration.

This came as a rebuttal to earlier news reports that indicated it is unlikely for Samchundang Pharm to gain patent rights for S-PASS platform as PCT International Search Report(ISR) gave “X” ratings indicating lack of novelty and inventive step for all patent claims made by Summit Biotech.

As for the Taiwan patent patent attorneys offering consulation to Pharmedaily explained that Taiwan is not a PCT member, meaning its examiners are not obligated to consider the ISR.

Summit Biotech had previously attempted to secure a Taiwan patent but was rejected. The latest approval followed a revised application.

An analysis of the patent suggests that Summit Biotech may have successfully avoided the most relevant prior art during examination.

The ISR cited multiple references explicitly mentioning fucoidan, a key component of the S-PASS delivery system. One particularly critical reference “Fucoidan for Enhanced Oral Delivery of Insulin” directly overlaps with the S-PASS patent.

This prior art already describes oral delivery using trimethyl chitosan + fucoidan + insulin nanoparticles, including tight junction modulation indicating that the fucoidan insulin combination had already been disclosed.

However, the Taiwan examiner did not cite these references. Instead, two weaker references that do not mention fucoidan were used.

These cited references argued that the claimed invention differs structurally and functionally from prior art involving PVP, alginate, or chitosan, and shows significant differences in molecular structure, functionality, and surfactant compatibility compared to sulfated fucoidan. This appears to have created a more favorable examination framework for Summit Biotech.

A patent attorney, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “A Taiwan registration does not increase the likelihood of approvals in other countries. Typically, the U.S., Japan, and Europe are the key jurisdictions. A U.S. patent might carry weight, but Taiwan does not.”

IMBiologics chart(Cred=KG Zeroin·MP Doctor)

IMBiologics rises on ceasefire news

According to KG Zeroin’s MP Doctor, IMBiologics closed up 15.83% (won 6,900) at won 50,500 on April 8. The gain is attributed to improved market stability expectations following a dramatic ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran earlier that day.

IMBiologics was newly listed on the Kosdaq on March 20. The company had previously been impacted by heightened geopolitical tensions after the U.S. and Iran entered a wartime stance on Feb. 28.

In a call with CFO Kim Wan jun said “Our valuation was discounted after the listing due to war-related concerns. Today’s rise appears to be a rebound from that.”

The company also announced that it will present preclinical data on its HLA-G-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), IMB-201, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR 2026), scheduled for April 17–22 in San Diego.

The presentation will also include its HLA-G-based multi-antibody strategy, aimed at securing global license-out deals for next-generation oncology targets.

HLA-G is emerging as a promising target, particularly in cancers that do not respond to PD-1/PD-L1-based immunotherapies, addressing significant unmet medical needs.

However, due to its structural complexity, HLA-G is difficult to develop. IMBiologics stated that it has successfully secured antibodies with both high selectivity and efficacy, enabling the development of various therapeutic candidates.

As both an immune checkpoint and tumor-specific antigen, HLA-G is considered suitable for combination therapies and multi-antibody approaches.

Accordingly, IMBiologics is building a bispecific antibody pipeline by demonstrating combination efficacy with targets involving different mechanisms.

At AACR, the company plans to present synergy data from combination and bispecific strategies involving three different targets.