Boosting R&D in Korean Medicine... National Institute for Korean Medicine Development Invites Applications for "Innovative Korean Medicine Technology Development Projects"

Applications Accepted via the Integrated Research Support System for All Ministries Until May 29

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Institute for Korean Medicine Development are inviting applications for the "2024 First Round of New Support Projects for Innovative Korean Medicine Technology Development."

This call is for a flagship Korean medicine R&D project with a total budget of 10.247 billion won, covering 26 projects across three fields.

National Institute for Korean Medicine Development

The "Guideline Development" field will support seven projects (with a total budget of 3.242 billion won), aiming to develop standard clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for Korean medicine. This includes not only research for new CPGs but also revision studies to incorporate the latest findings into existing CPGs.

This year, in particular, research and development funding that was previously allocated to three separate projects will be consolidated into a single project, enabling the simultaneous development of three related new CPGs with expanded funding, thereby encouraging more flexible research.

The "Optimization of Korean Medical Technology Clinical Research" field will support six projects (with a total budget of 4.49 billion won), aiming to generate and synthesize scientific evidence for Korean medical technologies to aid clinical and policy decision-making.

Among these, the "Evidence Generation" field will support research to determine the safety and efficacy of two diseases (functional dyspepsia and allergic rhinitis) that are currently the most relevant among those covered by the pilot project for herbal medicine health insurance reimbursement in the Korean medicine community.

The "Korean Medicine Translational and Individual Research" field plans to select 13 projects (with a total budget of approximately 2.515 billion won), aiming to nurture Korean medicine researchers by supporting creative and challenging research. The goal is to scientifically validate clinical experience and field ideas, paving the way for large-scale research and industrialization in the future.

Each project will receive funding ranging from approximately 190 million won to 1.32 billion won, with research periods set from two years to a maximum of five years.

Any researcher interested in Korean medicine research may apply. The application period runs until May 29, and submitted projects will undergo a selection evaluation in June, with final selections expected around August, after which research will commence. Detailed information on new project announcements and applications can be found on the Integrated Research Support System for All Ministries.

Lee Junhyuk, Director of the Korean Medicine Innovative Technology Development Project Group, stated, "In order to expand the currently insufficient R&D support for the Korean medicine community, we hope for the active participation of researchers, as there is a shortage of visible research demand in the field."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.