How much R&D goes into "binders" for medication, explosives, etc?

Factual Questions
1

I was wondering this while staring at the box of pills on my desk (antibiotics, if you were wondering); how much research goes into choosing the binders for drugs and other things that need a neutral medium to make them usable?

Do drug companies, the military, etc just find something that works and stick with it, or is there a secret underground lab somewhere that’s producing a new variety of superbinder that’ll allow every chemical to be made into a solid block with no deterioration in effect?

2

I had a client who made herbicides, and they were constantly on the search for new carrier agents for the active ingredients. It wasn’t easy, either. One engineer kept a jug of what looked like cottage cheese in his office to demonstrate a failed carrier. Another product ended up using the same carrier used in some shampoos.