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Korean companies were the applicants for nearly one in two patents worldwide on cosmetics products for hair loss treatment over the past two decades, occupying larger shares than their competitors from developed countries.

Data compiled by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) showed Sunday that between 2002 and 2023, Korean companies submitted 576 of the 1,344 patent applications worldwide related to cosmetics products for hair loss treatment, outpacing 272 in Japan, 231 in the United States, 119 in China and 104 in the European Union.

According to KIPO, the hair loss cosmetics are functional products applied over the scalp and hair to prevent alopecia by improving blood circulation and controlling hormone secretion.

Most of their active ingredients are discovered through medical and chemical research. However, some active ingredients were found through the study of traditional Korean medicine and ancient Asian medical books, such as the "Dongui Bogam" and the "Bencao Gangmu."

KIPO explained that the active ingredients are categorized as natural products, bioproducts and synthetic products.

Korea took the top spot in the number of patent applications for hair loss cosmetics made with natural products and bioproducts, with 241 and 216 applications filed, respectively. In the synthetic product category, however, the U.S. came out ahead with 156 patent applications, compared to 119 from Korea and 103 from Japan.

As for companies, Korea's Caregen applied for the most patents (115) for hair loss cosmetics between 2002 and 2023. AmorePacific came next with 72 patent applications, while LG Household & Health Care was ranked fourth with 25.

Caregen was also ranked No. 1 in the bioproducts category, as all of its 115 patent applications were related to cosmetics made with bioproducts.

AmorePacific filed the highest number of patents in the natural product category, with 40 applications.

"For Korean companies to dominate the global hair loss cosmetics market, we will share our analysis of patents and communicate with the cosmetics industry to help their growth based on their intellectual properties," a KIPO official said.