This dataset identifies 1,482 published records between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine oral peptide delivery terms such as permeation enhancer and enteric protection with challenges like gastric degradation, bioavailability variability and food effect. That figure is a search-defined corpus rather than a full count of every oral peptide delivery patent worldwide, so it should be read as a representative sample of the active claim space, not an exhaustive registry. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the true count for 2025-26 filings is understated in this snapshot.

The ranked assignee list covers 100 companies, with the leader holding 117 records and a steep drop to 63 at fifth place and 42 at tenth. The top five combined account for 28.5% of all 1,482 records in scope, and the top ten for 44.7%, which means over half the field is held by a long tail of smaller or single-filing entrants. Recent-year momentum has softened across the board, including for the historically active filers, so leadership by cumulative count does not currently correspond to accelerating activity.

Publications peaked at 108 in 2018 and, using only complete years, fell from 104 in 2021 to 48 in 2024, a 54% decline. The patent data alone cannot say whether this reflects genuine reduced R&D investment, consolidation among the leading filers, a shift toward trade-secret protection for formulation know-how, or portfolio pruning after early platform patents matured. Readers should treat 2025 and 2026 figures as incomplete rather than as confirmation the decline is continuing, since publication lag understates the most recent one to two years.