PVP Grades & Applications Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Filing has cooled since its 2017 peak. 82 families that year versus 15 in the most recent (partial) year, with the 2022 midpoint at 24 — a declining trend, not a plateau.
- Drug delivery dominates the claim space. A61K medicinal-preparation filings (1,588) dwarf the C08F addition-polymer subclass (152) that covers PVP's own polymer chemistry, showing the crowd is in formulation, not monomer science.
- No single assignee is currently active. Every assignee tracked for recent-year momentum, including the largest historical filers, shows zero filings in the latest year — the field has no visible incumbent leader right now.
What the PVP patent record actually covers
Polyvinylpyrrolidone shows up in patent filings less as a polymer invention and more as a formulation ingredient. The search corpus is anchored in binder chemistry, solubility enhancement, K-value grade selection and drug-delivery film forming, and the IPC composition confirms it: medicinal-preparation and therapeutic-activity subclasses outnumber the addition-polymer subclass that would cover PVP synthesis itself by a wide margin. Filings cluster around how PVP is used inside a tablet, transdermal patch or hydrogel, not around new ways to make the polymer.
Publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the most recent year in the trend below reads lower than it will eventually settle once pending applications publish.
Filing trend and technology composition
Publication counts and IPC tags pulled directly from the 1,781 families in scope, filtered to the binder, solubility-enhancement, K-value, drug-delivery and film-forming claim language defined in the search string.
A peak in 2017, then a steady decline
Filings ran at 82 in 2017, the high point of the window, dropped to 24 by the 2022 midpoint, and stand at 15 in the most recent partial year. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the last one or two years will fill in somewhat as pending applications publish, but the multi-year slope downward from 2017 predates that lag and is real.
Formulation subclasses outweigh polymer-chemistry subclasses
A61K (medicinal preparations) carries 1,588 of the tagged records and A61P (therapeutic activity) another 710, versus 200 for C08L (polymer compositions), 152 for C08F (addition polymers) and 72 for C08K (polymer additives). A61L (sterilising and disinfecting, 166) and A61F (implants and prostheses, 113) add smaller but distinct application niches. The gap between the medicinal subclasses and the polymer-chemistry subclasses is the central fact of this dataset: claim pressure sits on how PVP is deployed, not on the polymer itself.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,781 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) Grades and Applications with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about polyvinylpyrrolidone (pvp) grades and applications and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records anchor drug-delivery and hydrogel claims
US10010511B2 — Transdermal drug delivery system
A transdermal drug-delivery system combining a drug-in-adhesive matrix layer with a backing layer. The matrix layer pairs a cross-linked polyvinylpyrrolidone binder with a mesoporous silicon dioxide filler and a pressure-sensitive adhesive, with the filler-to-binder ratio specified in a range of about 1:1 to about 1:8, to produce a homogeneous dispersion of the active ingredient.Filed by PROSOLUS, INC., granted 2018-07-03.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5395619A | Lipid-polymer conjugates and liposomes | 1,134 |
| 2 | US5656286A | Solubility parameter based drug delivery system and method for altering drug saturation concentration | 833 |
| 3 | US6271278B1 | Hydrogel composites and superporous hydrogel composites having fast swelling, high mechanical strength, and s… | 624 |
| 4 | US6024976A | Solubility parameter based drug delivery system and method for altering drug saturation concentration | 534 |
| 5 | US5030447A | Pharmaceutical compositions having good stability | 529 |
| 6 | US5631018A | Lipid-polymer conjugates and liposomes | 437 |
| 7 | US5578709A | Macromolecular microparticles and methods of production | 349 |
| 8 | WO1994020073A1 | Lipid-polymer conjugates and liposomes | 324 |
| 9 | US4642267A | Hydrophilic polymer blend | 318 |
| 10 | US6221383B1 | Solubility parameter based drug delivery system and method for altering drug saturation concentration | 290 |
Citation counts reflect influence inside this searched corpus and skew toward older filings; treat them as a marker of foundational claim territory rather than current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for filing strategy
Three patterns matter more than any single ranking: where claim density sits, how the field's timing has moved, and where citation concentration signals blocking prior art.
The category is contracting, not maturing
High past filing density around 2017 occupied claim space in binder and film-forming formulations; the drop-off since does not mean that space has opened up again, only that fewer new entrants are contesting it.
Formulation claims outnumber polymer-chemistry claims 10 to 1
Anyone filing on PVP grade selection, K-value tuning or copolymer chemistry is working in a comparatively open subclass next to a heavily claimed medicinal-preparation space.
A small set of 1990s filings still anchors the field
The most-cited records date from the 1990s and cover lipid-polymer conjugates, solubility-parameter drug delivery and superporous hydrogel composites — foundational prior art that later filers must design around even when their own claims are newer.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to polyvinylpyrrolidone (pvp) grades and applications, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| American Cyanamid Company | SHINAL EDWARD C | 2 |
| American Cyanamid Company | GANESAN MADURAI | 2 |
| American Cyanamid Company | DESAI NARENDRA R | 2 |
| American Cyanamid Company | CARPENTIER EUGENE A | 2 |
| E.R. Squibb & Sons, LLC | Bristol-Myers Squibb Company | 2 |
| Bayer Intellectual Property GmbH | Schering AG (Germany) | 2 |
| BASF SE | SPANG PETER | 1 |
| BASF SE | MEFFERT HELMUT | 1 |
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the full corpus, and the strongest pairs link a single corporate assignee to individual named inventors rather than to another company — this is a field of solo corporate filers, not joint-venture filing.
No single assignee is currently active
Recent-year momentum data shows every tracked assignee, including the largest historical filers in the corpus, at zero filings in the latest year. That flat line is itself the finding: PVP formulation patenting has no active incumbent driving the category forward right now, which changes how a new entrant should read the competitive picture.
Large legacy assignees have gone quiet
Corporate and institutional assignees with substantial historical filing in this corpus, including university and pharmaceutical-industry names, all register zero activity in the most recent year tracked.
Filing is largely solo, not joint
The handful of co-assignee pairs link one corporate name to individual named inventors, suggesting internal inventor listing rather than cross-company collaboration.
Filing is spread across major offices, not office-concentrated
United States and European filings lead, followed by China, Canada, WIPO and Japan at broadly comparable levels — this is a globally filed category rather than one dominated by a single jurisdiction's applicants.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| BASF SE | 0 | — |
| American Cyanamid Company | 0 | — |
| Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited | 0 | — |
| Norphen Pharmaceuticals | 0 | — |
| Board of Regents, The University of Texas System | 0 | — |
| E.R. Squibb & Sons, LLC | 0 | — |
| Herotom Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The trend and composition data point to specific next steps depending on whether you are scoping freedom-to-operate or looking for open filing space.
Map claims against the top-cited prior art
Before drafting new binder or hydrogel claims, check them against the 1990s-era foundational filings that still carry the heaviest citation weight in this corpus.
Explore prior art in Eureka →Probe the C08F and C08K subclasses directly
Polymer-chemistry and additive subclasses carry a fraction of the filing density seen in A61K formulation claims — worth a dedicated search before assuming the space is closed.
Run a white space search in Eureka →Watch for post-lag publication in the most recent years
The declining trend from 2017 predates the publication lag, but the last one to two years should still be revisited as pending applications come through.
Track filing trends in Eureka →Common questions about PVP patents
The bulk of PVP-related patent activity in this corpus sits in A61K (medicinal preparations) and A61P (therapeutic activity), with 1,588 and 710 tagged records respectively. Polymer-chemistry classes such as C08L (polymer compositions), C08F (addition polymers) and C08K (polymer additives) are much smaller, at 200, 152 and 72 records. This split shows that most patent activity concerns how PVP is used inside a drug or medical formulation, rather than the polymer chemistry of PVP itself.
Filing activity in this dataset peaked at 82 records in 2017 and has declined since, reaching 24 at the 2022 midpoint and 15 in the most recent, still-partial year. Because patent publication typically lags filing by about 18 months, the very last year or two will likely rise somewhat as pending applications publish. Even accounting for that lag, the multi-year slope from the 2017 peak points to a genuine slowdown rather than a temporary dip.
The dataset's largest historical filers include major pharmaceutical and chemical companies as well as academic institutions, but momentum tracking shows every one of them at zero filings in the most recent year. That means there is currently no single assignee actively driving new PVP-formulation filings, which is unusual for a category with this much historical filing depth. A new entrant evaluating competitive risk should weigh this flat recent activity against the older, still-influential filings that anchor citation counts.
US10010511B2 claims a transdermal drug-delivery system built from a drug-in-adhesive matrix layer using a cross-linked polyvinylpyrrolidone binder combined with a mesoporous silicon dioxide filler, with the filler-to-binder ratio specified between about 1:1 and 1:8, plus a separate backing layer. Anyone designing a transdermal patch that uses cross-linked PVP together with a mesoporous silica filler in that same ratio range should review this claim closely for overlap. Designing outside the specified ratio range, or substituting a non-mesoporous filler, are the most direct ways to avoid the claim as drafted.
The clearest gap sits between the heavily claimed A61K formulation space and the comparatively thin C08F and C08K polymer-chemistry subclasses, at 152 and 72 records against 1,588. Specific under-claimed areas include cross-linked PVP hydrogel ratio tuning, PVP copolymer K-value optimisation, and PVP-compatible sterilisation coatings. These are narrower branches than the core drug-delivery claims, but the filing density evidence suggests they carry less prior-art risk for a new applicant.
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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.