Where does Alza Corporation rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Alza Corporation ranks #11,912 of 49,997 assignees by granted-patent volume, the same sort as the companies listing and top-holders ranking. See /methodology/#corpus-placement.

How many patents does Alza Corporation hold?

Alza Corporation holds 25 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2021, spanning 16 technology areas.

What is Alza Corporation's Innovation Score?

Alza Corporation has an Innovation Score of 35.6 out of 100 (top 49% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Alza Corporation focus on?

Alza Corporation's top technology area is A61K (Preparations FOR Medical, Dental OR Toiletry Purposes) with 16 patents, ranking #1,413 of 7,163 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 16 CPC subclasses total.

Is Alza Corporation's patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

Alza Corporation's recent grant velocity is -96% compared to the prior five-year period (grant years, not application filing dates). Grant activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for Alza Corporation's patents?

Alza Corporation's patents average 17.1 claims each. This is an aggregate descriptive count from the grant record; it does not establish claim scope, legal strength, enforceability, or design-around risk.

How is the Alza Corporation patent data sourced?

All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

Alza Corporation

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 25 granted patents across 16 technology areas, recorded in grant years 2015–2021. Grant-trend analysis is cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search; it does not measure application filings, current R&D, or legal strength. Primary class: A61K (Preparations FOR Medical, Dental OR Toiletry Purposes).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Alza ranks #11,912 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 25 patents across 16 technology areas.

#11,912
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 49%
by Innovation Score (35.6/100): 17.1
avg claims per patent: -96%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R11912 · US Corporation #11,912 · 25 grants

GRANTS-SMALL · UPPER-Q · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-FOCUS · INNOV-THIN · CLAIMS-RICH · TYPE-USCORP · VEL-DROP · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-SMALL 25 grants
UPPER-Q #11,912/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Airspan Networks
CPC-FOCUS A61K · 16 areas
INNOV-THIN 35.6/100
CLAIMS-RICH 17.1 claims/avg
TYPE-USCORP US Corporation
VEL-DROP -96% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Airspan Networks Inc. (±0 grants)

Instrument codes from this assignee’s USPTO PatentsView grant sheet: volume band, corpus rank, photo-finish peer, lead CPC, Innovation Score, claim depth, assignee type, velocity, and book completeness. Not a USPTO rating of patent strength.

How Alza’s 35.6 Innovation Score adds up

The same four weighted components behind every Innovation Score on PlainPatent: portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth.

Volume 11.3 pts (32%) Velocity 0.0 pts (0%) Breadth 14.1 pts (40%) Claim depth 10.2 pts (29%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
Aeroflex Colorado… · near

36
Alza · this assignee

36
Hettich-ONI & KG · near

36
Saitama Medical… · near

36
Shenzhen Yunyinggu… · near

36
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows Alza's Innovation Score is 35.6/100 (top 49% of the PatentsView-derived corpus). The chart places that score against the nearest Innovation Score peers plus corpus poles, not a reprint of the volume ranking.

Does more volume mean deeper claims for Alza?

Each dot is one of Alza’s 8 nearest volume peers (same corpus rank neighbourhood as the chart above), placed by total granted patents (horizontal) against average claims per patent (vertical). Alza’s own 17.1 claims/patent is at or below the 18.1 median for these volume peers. Volume here does not track with deeper claims; several lower-volume peers claim more thoroughly per patent.

Alza vs its 8 nearest volume peers: granted patents vs average claims per patent. Source: USPTO PatentsView.

Where Alza's grants concentrate

Alza Corporation is a focused PatentsView assignee: 16 CPC subclasses with 64% of grants classified under A61K (Preparations FOR Medical, Dental OR Toiletry Purposes). Peak complete grant year is 2015 (12 grants) versus a trough of 1 in 2018. By volume, Alza sits between Airspan Networks Inc. and API Intellectual Property Holdings, LLC.

Airspan Networks

25
Alcon Lensx

25
Alere SAN Diego

25
Alexza Pharmaceut…

25
Apator Miitors APS

25
Apex Industrial

25
Apex Microelectro…

25
API Intellectual…

25
Alza ◀

25

What this shows Alza holds 25 patents at rank #11,899, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Alza

By rank, the assignees closest to #11,899 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in A61K (Preparations FOR Medical)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in Alza's primary technology class.

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for Alza, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In A61K (Preparations FOR Medical), Alza ranks #1,413 of 7,163 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (36 here).

Aeroflex Colorado Springs Inc. 36 Saitama Medical University 36 Hettich-ONI GmbH & Co. KG 36 Shenzhen Yunyinggu Technology Co., Ltd. 36

Alza's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

36 Top 49% higher than 51% of 49,997 US assignees

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2021

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table

Alza Corporation patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	12	48.0%
2016	8	32.0%
2017	2	8.0%
2018	1	4.0%
2019	1	4.0%
2021	1	4.0%

Which technologies does Alza Corporation patent most?

A61K - Preparations FOR Medical, Dental OR Toiletry Purposes 16

A61M - Devices FOR Introducing Media Into, OR Onto, THE Body ; Devices FOR Transducing Body Media OR FOR Taking Media From THE Body ; Devices FOR Producing OR Ending Sleep OR Stupor 11

A61P - Specific Therapeutic Activity OF Chemical Compounds OR Medicinal Preparations 9

A61B - DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification 4

A61N - ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; Radiation THERAPY; Ultrasound Therapy 4

Y10T - Technical Subjects Covered BY Former US Classification 4

A61F - Filters Implantable Into Blood VESSELS; PROSTHESES; Devices Providing Patency TO, OR Preventing Collapsing OF, Tubular Structures OF THE Body, e.g. STENTS; Orthopaedic, Nursing OR Contraceptive DEVICES; FOMENTATION; Treatment OR Protection OF Eyes OR EARS; Bandages, Dressings OR Absorbent PADS; Firs 3

G09F - DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; Labels OR NAME-PLATES; Seals 3

G01R - Measuring Electric VARIABLES; Measuring Magnetic Variables 2

G08B - Signalling OR Calling SYSTEMS; Order TELEGRAPHS; Alarm Systems 2

C07D - Heterocyclic Compounds 2

B65B - Machines, Apparatus OR Devices FOR, OR Methods OF, Packaging Articles OR MATERIALS; Unpacking 2

B65D - Containers FOR Storage OR Transport OF Articles OR Materials, e.g. Bags, Barrels, Bottles, Boxes, Cans, Cartons, Crates, Drums, Jars, Tanks, Hoppers, Forwarding CONTAINERS; Accessories, Closures, OR Fittings THEREFOR; Packaging ELEMENTS; Packages 2

Y02A - Technologies FOR Adaptation TO Climate Change 2

G01N - Investigating OR Analysing Materials BY Determining Their Chemical OR Physical Properties 1

Top 15 of 16 technology areas

More on this record

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

View all rankings → How is Innovation Score calculated?

What to do with this data

Alza Corporation's patent record in context - here's where to go next.

Alza Corporation's lead technology class is A61K (Preparations FOR Medical, Dental OR Toiletry Purposes), 64% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore A61K
Ranked #11,912 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare Alza Corporation against Airspan Networks Inc., an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 35.6/100 blends volume, velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth. How it's calculated

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through May 2026; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page

USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Compiled by PlainPatent, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Process · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.