Patch Pump Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- One assignee dominates the ranked field. of the 4 companies in the ranking hold 19 of the 23 records in scope, with a long tail of single-filer entrants behind them.
- Filing pace has cooled from its 2018 peak. output reached 13 records that year and growth from 2021 to 2024 sits at -50%, the most recent span that can be read as complete.
- Almost every record touches body-fluid device claims. A61M covers all 23 records in scope, while A61K and A61L medicinal-preparation and sterilising classes each sit at 34.8%, leaving A61B diagnosis/surgery claims thin at 4.3%.
Filing growth compares 2021 (2 records) with 2024 (1) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field.
What the patent record shows about patch pumps and tubeless delivery
Patch insulin pumps and tubeless delivery systems sit at the intersection of mechanical dosing, adhesive retention and disposable-cartridge economics. The 23 published records in this dataset run from 2015 through the 2026 cut-off, concentrated heavily around device architecture claims rather than the drug formulations they deliver. A61M, the body-fluid device subclass, appears in every single record — a sign that the core contest here is mechanical and fluidic, not pharmacological.
Filing activity peaked in 2018 and has since thinned, which narrows the pool of recently active claim territory without closing it. Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, the softness visible in the last one or two years understates real filing activity rather than confirming a slowdown.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 23-record dataset: filings by year, and the IPC subclasses those filings carry. Because a single record can carry more than one class, the composition shares add up to more than 100% of the record total.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Output rose to a peak of 13 records in 2018, then eased. The tracked growth figure of -50% covers 2021 (2 records) to 2024 (1 record) — the most recent span treatable as complete given publication lag.
IPC subclass composition
A61M (devices for body fluids) touches all 23 records in scope. A61K (medicinal preparations) and A61L (sterilising and disinfecting) each sit at 34.8% of records, and A61B (diagnosis and surgery) trails at 4.3% — the thinnest-claimed adjacent branch in this set.
Shares are the percentage of the 23 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Patch Pumps and Tubeless Insulin Systems with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about patch pumps and tubeless insulin systems and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this field
US20140194854A1 — Subcutaneous and intradermal patch infusers
The device infuses a compound subcutaneously or intradermally over an extended period, delivering from a conventional prefilled syringe with a staked cannula while the device is adhered to the injection site and the syringe sits substantially parallel to it. An integral mechanism forms the cannula's distal section perpendicular to the syringe axis, with delivery driven by springs or similar mechanisms. The design targets a low-cost mechanical system for infusing high-volume, viscous compounds, activated by the user through a single lever.Filed by SID Technologies, LLC — the most-cited record in this dataset at 146 citations.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20140194854A1 | Subcutaneous and intradermal patch infusers | 146 |
| 2 | WO2018136799A1 | Medication infusion components and systems | 72 |
| 3 | US20180200412A1 | Medication infusion components and systems | 23 |
| 4 | WO2013032841A1 | Subcutaneous and intradermal patch infusers | 20 |
| 5 | US11197949B2 | Medication infusion components and systems | 18 |
| 6 | US20220031941A1 | Medication infusion components and systems | 5 |
| 7 | US20230108058A1 | Medication infusion components and systems | 4 |
| 8 | US20220409777A1 | Medication infusion components and systems | 3 |
| 9 | EP3570932A1 | Medication infusion components and systems | 2 |
| 10 | CA3159930A1 | Medication infusion components and systems | 1 |
Citation counts inside this corpus favour older filings and should be read as a signal of influence on later filers, not as a marker of present-day importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the evidence means for filing strategy
Three findings condition how a new entrant should read this field: where claim density sits, how citation weight is distributed, and what the growth figure actually covers.
Body-fluid device claims are the contested core
Every record in scope touches A61M, the subclass covering devices for body fluids. That is not evidence of an open field — it means mechanical dosing and delivery architecture is where the claim space is occupied, and where a new filing is most likely to run into prior art.
One filing anchors the prior-art landscape
US20140194854A1, a SID Technologies patch infuser filing, carries far more citations than any other record in this set. Its subcutaneous and intradermal delivery approach, built around a staked-cannula prefilled-syringe mechanism, is the reference point later filers had to design around or build on.
Read the growth figure narrowly
The tracked decline from 2 records in 2021 to 1 in 2024 is the only complete recent span in this dataset. It should not be extrapolated past 2024: publication lag means 2025 and 2026 filings are still arriving in the record.
One name holds most of the ranked field
The assignee ranking returns just 4 companies, and the leader accounts for 19 of the 23 records in scope. The remaining ranked assignees hold small, largely single-digit shares, with one co-assignee pairing appearing once in the dataset.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to patch pumps and tubeless insulin systems, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the field is thin
The ranked field is short: four assignees account for the entire assignee ranking in this dataset, with one holding the large majority of records and the rest filing in small numbers.
Medtronic MiniMed holds the bulk of the ranked field
The leading assignee in this dataset accounts for the majority of the 23 records tracked, spanning patch infuser and medication infusion component filings. Recent-year momentum for this assignee shows 0 filings in the latest tracked year, consistent with the broader publication-lag effect across the dataset rather than a withdrawal from the space.
SID Technologies set the reference architecture
SID Technologies' subcutaneous and intradermal patch infuser filing is the most-cited record in the set, establishing the staked-cannula, spring-driven delivery approach that other filings reference. A related entity, SID Technologies LLC in Chinese-registered form, also appears in the assignee ranking.
Smaller filers show no recent activity
The remaining ranked assignees, including an academic-affiliated filer, show no filings in the latest tracked year and a -100% year-on-year change for at least one. This points to a field where sustained, multi-year filing programmes are rare outside the leader.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic MiniMed | 0 | — |
| TSALS IZRAIL | 0 | — |
| SID Technologies, LLC | 0 | — |
| P S R ENG COLLEGE | 0 | -100% |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next questions rather than a finished picture — publication lag alone means the last one to two years are undercounted.
Test a draft claim against the cited prior art
Before drafting around adhesive retention or cannula insertion mechanisms, run the specific claim language against US20140194854A1 and the other highly-cited records to see what design-around room actually exists.
Explore prior art in Eureka →Track the leader's recent filings directly
Momentum figures here reflect publication lag as much as actual R&D pace. Checking the leading assignee's most recent applications directly, rather than relying on lagged aggregate counts, gives a clearer read on where they are heading next.
Monitor assignee activity in Eureka →Scope the under-claimed branches before filing
Wireless controller pairing and disposable pod cost mechanisms show thinner coverage than the core A61M claims. A freedom-to-operate check focused specifically on these branches is more useful than a broad novelty search across the whole field.
Run a white space search in Eureka →Common questions on patch pump patent strategy
In this dataset of 23 published records, the assignee ranking returns just four companies, and the leading one holds 19 of the 23 records in scope. That is a strong concentration within a small ranked field rather than evidence of dominance across the entire industry, since the ranking only covers the assignees this dataset's search string surfaced. Anyone assessing freedom to operate should treat this as a starting point for a deeper prior-art search, not a complete competitive map.
Filing activity peaked at 13 records in 2018 and has thinned since, with the most recent complete span, 2021 to 2024, showing a -50% change. However, publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the low counts in 2025 and 2026 reflect the reporting lag as much as any real slowdown. The honest read is that the field cooled from its 2018 peak, not that it has gone quiet.
Devices for body fluids, IPC subclass A61M, appears in all 23 records in scope, making it the single densest claim area in this dataset. Medicinal preparation claims (A61K) and sterilising and disinfecting claims (A61L) each appear in 34.8% of records, while diagnosis and surgery claims (A61B) are comparatively rare at 4.3%. New filers should expect the heaviest prior-art density around mechanical dosing and delivery architecture rather than formulation or diagnostics.
US20140194854A1 describes a subcutaneous and intradermal patch infuser that delivers from a conventional prefilled syringe with a staked cannula, using an integral mechanism to angle the cannula's distal section perpendicular to the syringe axis, driven by a spring mechanism and activated with a single lever. It is the most-cited record in this dataset at 146 citations, making it the reference point for later filings in this space. Whether it blocks a specific new design depends on matching claim elements precisely, particularly the cannula-forming mechanism and syringe-parallel adhesion approach, which is a question for detailed claim charting rather than the abstract alone.
Based on the IPC composition in this dataset, diagnosis and surgery claims (A61B) are the thinnest at 4.3% of records, well below the 100% coverage of body-fluid device claims. Sub-areas like wireless controller pairing protocols, adhesive retention under motion or sweat, and disposable pod cost-reduction mechanisms also show less concentrated coverage than the core mechanical dosing claims. These are reasonable starting points for a novelty search, though a thin IPC share is not proof of an open claim — it may also reflect fewer entrants trying, rather than an absence of blocking art.
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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.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.