Hojae Lee

Hojae is a European and Korean qualified patent attorney whose practice centres on advising clients in the life sciences sector. With dual qualifications and experience in both private practice and the biopharma industry, he helps clients develop strong, commercially aligned IP strategies that work domestically and globally.

Areas of Expertise

• Pharmaceutics
• Biotechnology
• Industrial Chemistry

Biotech & Pharma Focus

Hojae’s practice centres on advanced therapies, including antibody-like molecules and RNA- and cell-based therapies. He also handles a wide range of pharmaceutical inventions, including those in organic chemistry, medical-use claims and formulation technologies.

Building on his scientific background in pharmacy and his experience working ‘in house’ within a biopharmaceutical company, Hojae provides strategic and commercially focused support to global pharmaceutical clients. He advises on portfolio management and filing strategies aligned with research and clinical development plans, offers recommendations for investment-driven IP positioning and develops patent strategies. He also has substantial experience in due diligence and freedom-to-operate analysis.

Korean Focus

Having begun his IP career in South Korea, Hojae has a deep understanding of the Korean legal and commercial environment. Combined with his European expertise, this enables him to work closely with a wide range of Korean clients to develop and execute their European IP strategies in a way that takes into account the differences between the Korean and European systems.

His Korean knowledge and experience also provide valuable insights for non-Korean pharmaceutical clients seeking to enter the Korean market. Hojae’s cross-jurisdictional expertise allow him to advise on patent matters and wider IP rights in Korea.

Hojae maintains his Korean network via regular trips to Korea. He also contributes regularly to KPAA News (the Korean patent attorney’s journal) regarding European IP developments.

Background

Hojae holds a BSc in Pharmacy from Chungbuk National University. He qualified as a Korean Patent Attorney in 2016 and worked at a couple of private practice firms, as well as serving as an in-house attorney at a leading biopharma company in Korea.

He joined Mewburn Ellis in 2021 and qualified as a European Patent Attorney in 2025.