Long-Acting Drug Delivery Patent Landscape 2026
Long-Acting Drug Delivery Patent Landscape in 2026
Long-acting drug delivery is a mature, concentrated field: the top five filers among the hundred largest applicants hold 26% of that group’s combined output, with ModernaTX leading at 723 patent records. The field peaked in 2017 and has eased since, though biologics-focused entrants continue to reshape the competitive structure.
ModernaTX leads a concentrated field with a clear three-tier structure
ModernaTX Inc holds the top position with 723 patent records, ahead of Amgen Inc (618) and Novartis AG (494). The top five applicants — ModernaTX, Amgen, Novartis, Medtronic, and Allergan — together account for 26% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, signaling meaningful but not monopolistic concentration.
A clear tier gap separates the top three from the mid-tier. Medtronic Inc (481) and Allergan Inc (443) round out the first tier, while Janssen Pharma NV (384), Rani Therapeutics (372), and Alza Corp (330) form a capable second tier. Below rank eight, counts fall below 310, indicating a long tail of specialized players.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ModernaTX Inc | 723 | |
| 2 | Amgen Inc | 618 | |
| 3 | Novartis AG | 494 | |
| 4 | Medtronic Inc | 481 | |
| 5 | Allergan Inc | 443 | |
| 6 | Janssen Pharma NV | 384 | |
| 7 | Rani Therapeutics LLC | 372 | |
| 8 | Alza Corporation | 330 | |
| 9 | Durect Corporation | 309 | |
| 10 | Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd | 258 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey | 258 | |
| 12 | Laboratorios Farmaceuticos Rovi SA | 244 | |
| 13 | Intarcia Therapeutics Inc | 235 | |
| 14 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 216 | |
| 15 | Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc | 189 | |
| 16 | Janssen Biotech Inc | 150 | |
| 17 | Warsaw Orthopedic Inc | 146 | |
| 18 | Regents of the University of California | 140 | |
| 19 | Board of Regents, The University of Texas System | 139 | |
| 20 | Mapi Pharma Ltd | 127 |
The leaders’ positions reflect divergent strategic bets: ModernaTX is oriented toward mRNA-based formulations, Amgen toward antibody-conjugate delivery, and Medtronic toward implantable device-based delivery — suggesting that leadership is route-specific rather than platform-agnostic.
The most recent 18–24 months of filing data are subject to publication lag and will undercount true activity; trend reads for 2024–2026 should be treated as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Annual volume has eased from its 2017 peak; medicinal-preparation chemistry dominates the technology mix
Two charts together show that filing activity is past its 2017 high and that the technology base is heavily weighted toward formulation science, with device and biologic sub-classes occupying secondary positions.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings peaked at 985 records in 2017 and have trended downward since, reaching 608 in 2023 and 601 in 2024. The 2025 and 2026 figures (318 and 47, respectively) reflect publication lag and should not be read as indicative of further decline. The multi-year window shows a net contraction of approximately 15% from the recent prior period.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
A61K (Medicinal preparations) is the overwhelmingly dominant class at 16,644 records, followed by A61P (Therapeutic activity, 6,627) and A61M (Devices for body fluids, 3,993). Peptide and protein chemistry (C07K, 2,620) and microorganism/genetic engineering (C12N, 1,371) are meaningful secondary branches, reflecting growing biologic delivery activity. Implants and prostheses (A61F, 1,327) and sterilization/materials (A61L, 1,168) round out the top tier.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Patient activated administration of drug bolus fro…
Systems and methods are described for reducing the risk of overdosage from a patient activated implantable drug delivery system. In one embodiment, an implantable drug delivery system is configured to deliver a drug. An external activation unit is operable by a user to request activation of the implantable drug delivery system. The activation unit includes… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Implantable device and methods for delivering drug… | 1,473 |
| 2 | Biointerface membranes incorporating bioactive age… | 1,472 |
| 3 | Low-permeability, laser-activated drug delivery de… | 1,357 |
| 4 | Multi-dose drug delivery device and method | 1,344 |
| 5 | Controlled-release biocompatible ocular drug deliv… | 1,198 |
| 6 | Implantable infusion device | 1,063 |
| 7 | Intravascular delivery system for therapeutic agents | 1,039 |
| 8 | Programmable medical drug delivery systems and met… | 1,022 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
What the field’s structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of a past-peak filing trend, concentrated leadership, and active inter-firm collaboration creates a nuanced environment where timing and route selection are as important as raw innovation output.
Field is past its 2017 peak — selective innovation still active
The lifecycle evidence classifies long-acting drug delivery as past-peak, with annual filings easing back from the 2017 high of 985 records. This does not mean the field is exhausted: biologic and mRNA delivery sub-routes continue to attract new entrants. R&D teams should distinguish between crowded formulation-science territories and less-contested delivery-device or biologic-conjugate niches.
Past-PeakTop tier holds leverage, but the mid-tier is substantial
The top five filers hold 26% of the hundred largest filers’ combined records, a level that indicates competitive concentration without market closure. Eight filers exceed 300 patent records, giving the mid-tier real defensive depth. New entrants face a meaningful prior-art landscape in core formulation classes but can find differentiated positions in device-integrated or biologic delivery routes.
ConcentratedAmgen–Amgen Research (Munich) is the dominant co-filing pair
The most active co-filing relationship is between Amgen Inc and Amgen Research (Munich) GmbH with 110 joint records, reflecting an intra-corporate international R&D structure. Medtronic Inc and Warsaw Orthopedic Inc collaborate on 48 records (device-focused), while Novartis AG and Novartis Pharm GmbH share 36. ModernaTX co-files with the University of Nebraska Board of Regents (6 records) and Seattle Children’s Hospital (4 records), indicating academic partnerships in mRNA delivery.
CollaborationUS-centric filing with selective European and PCT coverage
The United States is the lead filing jurisdiction with 5,398 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) at 2,478 and WIPO (PCT) at 1,852. Australia (1,391), Canada (1,223), and Israel (1,084) form a secondary tier, reflecting the commercialization footprints of the dominant applicants. China (226) and Japan (175) show relatively modest coverage given their market size, pointing to potential enforcement gaps for non-local innovators.
US-LedGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen Inc | Amgen Research (Munich) GmbH | 110 |
| Medtronic Inc | Warsaw Orthopedic Inc | 48 |
| Novartis AG | Novartis Pharma GmbH | 36 |
| Janssen Pharma NV | Ortho Clinical Diagnostics | 13 |
| ModernaTX Inc | University of Nebraska Board of Regents | 6 |
| Amgen Inc | Santa Maria Biotherapeutics Inc | 6 |
| Rani Therapeutics LLC | Incube Labs LLC | 6 |
| Novartis AG | Recordati AG | 5 |
| ModernaTX Inc | Seattle Children’s Hospital (dba Seattle Children’s Research Institute) | 4 |
| Janssen Pharma NV | Janssen Biotech Inc | 4 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
ModernaTX leads on mRNA formulation; Amgen anchors antibody-conjugate delivery
The two largest players occupy distinct technical positions and show contrasting recent momentum, making direct rivalry partial rather than head-to-head across all routes.
ModernaTX Inc
ModernaTX leads with 723 patent records and concentrates heavily on medicinal preparations (A61K 9: 638 records; A61K 39: 311 records), consistent with an mRNA-formulation strategy. Recent momentum shows a near-flat trajectory (-2% recent vs. prior period), suggesting a stabilizing rather than accelerating portfolio. Co-filing with the University of Nebraska and Seattle Children’s Hospital indicates active academic partnerships in next-generation mRNA delivery.
families: 723Amgen Inc
Amgen holds 618 patent records and emphasizes excipient-mediated delivery (A61K 47: 485 records) and monoclonal antibody payloads (C07K 16: 402 records), reflecting a biologics-conjugate orientation distinct from ModernaTX’s mRNA focus. Recent momentum has declined (-28% recent vs. prior period), though this may reflect portfolio consolidation alongside its joint activity with Amgen Research (Munich) GmbH (110 co-filed records).
families: 618| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| ModernaTX Inc | 166 | ▬ -2% |
| Amgen Inc | 29 | ▼ -28% |
| Novartis AG | 8 | ▲ new entrant |
| Medtronic Inc | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| Allergan Inc | 8 | ▼ -78% |
| Janssen Pharma NV | 35 | ▼ -74% |
Under-served adjacent branches worth monitoring
Several IPC classes appear at lower relative shares within this corpus despite plausible technical relevance to long-acting delivery, representing areas where the prior-art density is lower than in the dominant formulation classes.
A61F · Implants & prostheses
With 1,327 records against 16,644 in the dominant A61K class, implant-integrated drug release remains a comparatively sparse branch. Implantable depots and drug-eluting scaffolds sit at the intersection of device engineering and controlled-release chemistry — a technically well-justified extension of current long-acting strategies. Entry paths include collaboration with orthopedic or cardiovascular device developers, as the Medtronic–Warsaw Orthopedic co-filing pair (48 records) illustrates.
Search this in Eureka →C12N · Microorganisms & genetic engineering
At 1,371 records, microbial and gene-engineering approaches to sustained payload delivery are present but not densely covered relative to the formulation-chemistry core. Gene-therapy vectors and engineered cell-based delivery systems are an emerging route for durable therapeutic effects without repeated dosing — the core promise of long-acting delivery. The ModernaTX–University of Nebraska co-filing activity hints at early academic-to-industry transfer in this direction.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route across the corpus
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | A61K 9 · Medicinal preparations | A61K 47 · Medicinal preparations | A61K 31 · Medicinal preparations | A61K 38 · Medicinal preparations | A61M 5 · Devices for body fluids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ModernaTX Inc | Strong · 638 | Moderate · 165 | Moderate · 316 | Moderate · 218 | Absent |
| Novartis AG | Strong · 416 | Strong · 306 | Moderate · 102 | Strong · 219 | Absent |
| Allergan Inc | Strong · 430 | Moderate · 178 | Strong · 373 | Absent | Absent |
| Alza Corporation | Strong · 352 | Strong · 276 | Absent | Strong · 203 | Absent |
| Janssen Pharma NV | Strong · 329 | Moderate · 157 | Strong · 327 | Absent | Absent |
| Amgen Inc | Absent | Strong · 485 | Absent | Strong · 288 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 6,651 patent families in scope, providing the base for all trend, technology, and jurisdiction analyses in this report.
ModernaTX Inc leads with 723 patent records, ahead of Amgen Inc (618) and Novartis AG (494). The top five filers together account for 26% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output.
The field is classified as past-peak. Annual filings peaked at 985 records in 2017 and have eased since, reaching 608 in 2023. The most recent 2025–2026 figures are subject to publication lag and should not be read as a further structural decline.
The United States is the dominant filing jurisdiction at 5,398 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) at 2,478 and WIPO (PCT) at 1,852. Australia, Canada, and Israel form a secondary tier. China (226) and Japan (175) show relatively limited coverage compared to their market scale.
The most-cited records include patents covering implantable drug delivery devices (1,473 citations), biointerface membranes incorporating bioactive agents (1,472), low-permeability laser-activated delivery devices (1,357), and multi-dose drug delivery systems (1,344), indicating that implantable and controlled-release device architectures form the foundational prior art.
Within this corpus, A61F (Implants and prostheses, 1,327 records) and C12N (Microorganisms and genetic engineering, 1,371 records) are present at notably lower relative shares than the dominant A61K formulation class. These branches — covering implant-integrated release and gene/cell-based sustained delivery — have plausible technical value but lower prior-art density, making them worth monitoring for R&D differentiation.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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