Drug Delivery Systems: Companies, Startups & Research

Pfizer, Sanofi S.A., Novartis, AstraZeneca, GSK GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson are among the companies active in this field. Their work spans lipid nanoparticle expertise, biologic formulation and administration, and device-assisted delivery. Pfizer is associated with lipid nanocarriers, while GSK and Johnson & Johnson are linked to varied delivery routes and devices.

University of Sichuan, Chinese Academy of Sciences CAS and Zhejiang University are prominent research organizations in the field. University of Sichuan works on albumin systems, nucleic-acid nanoplatforms and hydrogels; Chinese Academy of Sciences CAS studies responsive polymers and targeting; Zhejiang University explores cell-based carriers, local formulations and implantable devices.

Grant data records $891.7 million across 1,132 grants since 2020. Funding-round data totals $75.5 billion across 28 rounds, but the listed rounds include unrelated university and infrastructure financing. The grant total is the more directly useful indicator, though neither aggregate alone establishes how much was dedicated exclusively to drug delivery.

Sanofi S.A. leads the listed patent holders with 105 patents, followed by Insulet with 52 and Amgen Inc. with 41. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has 33, while Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. has 28. These figures identify prominent holders in the patent data; they do not indicate patent quality or commercial value.

No: patent activity fell 41.6% in the last 12 months compared with the previous 12 months. The field remains active, but publication activity moved in the opposite direction, rising 19.3% over the same comparison window. This divergence suggests that research output and patenting are not moving in step.

Drug delivery is a mature, broad field, with 325,145 publications and 35,407 patents recorded in the data. It includes established routes and formulations as well as newer targeted carriers, biological vectors and device-assisted methods. Maturity varies by approach: a research result does not by itself show that a system is clinically validated or commercially deployable.

Recent developments include a September 2026 protein vehicle designed to bind SN-38 strongly while limiting drug leakage, and Aptar’s July 2026 framework for collaborative development of injectable systems. Research also covers ionic liquids for transdermal delivery and models of coated microneedle transport through skin. These efforts address drug retention, administration and movement across biological barriers.

The main approaches are lipid nanocarriers, polymeric and inorganic carriers, controlled-release depots, targeted conjugates and carriers, device-assisted delivery, and biological vectors. They differ in how they package, target or release a medicine: devices control administration, depots extend release, and carriers transport cargo. Each faces trade-offs involving safety, selectivity, release control or manufacturing.

The United States leads with 154,246 documents, followed by China with 118,905 and India with 59,822. The United Kingdom has 44,417 documents and Germany has 35,347. These figures indicate where recorded activity is concentrated, but they do not measure the quality or commercial impact of research in each country.

Oncology is the largest listed application, with 46,978 documents and 858 patents in the window. Other applications include vaccines and infectious diseases, neurological disorders, metabolic and endocrine diseases, and respiratory diseases. Delivery design can support targeted treatment, sustained release or access across biological barriers, but the appropriate approach depends on the drug and disease context.