Polymers are the most common excipients used in pharmaceutical dosage forms, and often new applications and innovative polymers appear aiming to overcome unmet needs in the drug formulation field. Orodispersible dosage forms based on polymeric matrices have currently demonstrated their prominence in accordance with the actual market requirements and patients' demands. The versatility of the polymeric oral films had proven their high value as suitable technological platforms for extension and adjustment to different delivery routes and promising markets. These are the main reasons for the increasing investment of several companies in this technology and their applicability in different therapeutic segments. This pharmaceutical form with a blustering beginning as a breath freshener had an emergent entrance in the Rx market proving its reliable value. This review describes and explores the oral film technology from its main component, the polymeric matrices, to the new and possible market applications, highlighting all the critical and important points of its development.

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Despite the orodispersible films' complex composition, it was possible to establish correlations about the impact of the main excipients on the final product characteristics. Acceptable values for the CQAs were also defined, working as acceptance criteria for the development of new oral film formulations.

It was shown that it is possible to develop oral films based on hydrophobic polymers with fast disintegration time, good texture and appearance, breaking a paradigm of the ODF research field.