ALZET Osmotic Pumps were developed during the 1970’s by ALZA Corporation. They were initially developed for use during internal company research, and for use by some of ALZA’s collaborators working at academic institutions. It did not take long for the word to spread about the existence of a novel drug delivery system that allowed for continuous administration of test agents into laboratory animals. The increasing demand for a commercially available continuous drug delivery device for animal research led to the introduction of ALZET pumps into the marketplace in 1977.