Carballo Pedrares, NataliaMartín Giménez, Virna MargaritaAlonso Fernández, María José2026-04-172026-04-172026-01-22Carballo Pedrares, N., Giménez Martín, V.M., & Alonso, M.J. (2026). Clinical translation of injectable hydrogels: from bioactive polymers to long-acting drug delivery systems. Drug Delivery And Translational Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13346-025-02033-12190-393Xhttps://hdl.handle.net/10347/46776Injectable hydrogels (IHs) have emerged as versatile biomaterials that enable localized therapy through minimally invasive delivery. Their in situ sol–gel transition supports sustained and targeted release of therapeutics, enhancing patient comfort and reducing dosing frequency. However, clinical translation remains limited due to challenges in achieving controlled degradation, ensuring long-term biocompatibility, scaling production, and meeting regulatory standards. Despite these hurdles, several IH-based formulations are progressing through clinical trials or have reached the market, underscoring their therapeutic potential. This review examines the major translational barriers and highlights recent advances that are accelerating the adoption of IHs in precision and personalized medicine.engThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Attribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BiomaterialsInjectable hydrogelsDrug delivery systemsClinical translationPersonalized medicine3209 Farmacologíajournal article10.1007/s13346-025-02033-12190-3948open access