Organ-on-a-chip (OoC) platforms are microengineered systems that combine microfluidic control with living cells to emulate the physiological functions of human tissues and organs in vitro. OoC has become a transformative tool in pharmaceutical research, offering unprecedented capabilities for predicting drug efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity with human-relevant precision. This study presents a comprehensive scientometric and patent landscape analysis of OoC studies in pharmaceutical sciences spanning 2008–2025. Using CiteSpace, we mapped 1,786 publications to identify influential authors, landmark works, and temporal shifts in thematic focus. Keyword burst and clustering analyses reveal emerging frontiers in multi-organ integration, disease modeling, and drug screening. Patent data indicate a rapid expansion since 2016, led by China and the United States, underscoring a translational trajectory from fundamental research to applied biotechnology. These findings delineate the evolving intellectual and technological framework of organ-on-a-chip research in drug development and highlight future priorities in multi-organ systems, biomaterials optimization, and clinical translation.
Du et al. (Mon,) studied this question.