Inventage Lab said Aug. 5 that its development project for IVL3004, a long-acting drug addiction treatment, has been selected as a research and development project under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ 2026 Global TIPS program, a technology development initiative linked to investment and funding.
The policy-designated Global TIPS program is a government initiative in which the Ministry of Health and Welfare recommends biotech and healthcare companies with strong global market potential, while the Ministry of SMEs and Startups provides research and development support. Inventage Lab was the only biotech healthcare company selected this year and will receive up to $4 million in R&D funding over four years.
Following the selection, Inventage Lab plans to begin global Phase 2 clinical development of IVL3004 after regulatory discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
IVL3004 is a once-monthly addiction treatment developed using Inventage Lab’s IVL-DrugFluidic long-acting drug delivery platform based on microfluidic technology.
The company said that in its previous global Phase 1 trial, IVL3004 maintained effective therapeutic blood concentrations for four weeks with approximately 20% less drug dosage than an existing commercial product. The trial also confirmed improved pharmacokinetic characteristics and tolerability, including a shorter duration of injection site reactions.
Through the project, Inventage Lab plans to advance late-stage clinical development while pursuing technology licensing and co-development partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies. The company aims to improve medication adherence and treatment continuity through long-acting formulations and expand applications into public healthcare settings.
The selection is also significant as Inventage Lab moves into late-stage clinical development after establishing its formulation and manufacturing processes through a 2020 biotechnology R&D program supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and completing global Phase 1 trials.
“Long-acting injectable treatments for drug addiction are a field with high technological barriers, making follow-up development challenging,” Inventage Lab CEO Kim Joo-hee said. “With our microfluidic platform technology improving the performance and cost competitiveness of existing products, we will use Global TIPS support to further accelerate late-stage clinical development and commercialization.”