Some 600 delegates braved the heat of the Arizona desert to attend the year’s largest respiratory drug delivery conference two weeks ago. Amidst cacti, hummingbirds and Turkey Vultures, the Marriott Desert Ridge Resort was swamped by anyone with a passion for delivering drugs via the lungs, and the technology that enables them to do it.
There currently seems to be two main camps: those who simply wish to deliver generic compounds using known (and proven) device technologies; and those who wish to deliver novel APIs, often for therapies beyond the typical asthma and COPD, using new, innovative devices. The understanding of the science behind such devices continues to grow – demonstrated by the large number of thought-provoking scientific presentations and posters, and also by the number of new instruments. Dekati debuted their ‘Bolar’ instrument that can independently measure the positive and negative charge on an aerosol; and Copley Scientific showcased their BRS 3000 that can run realistic inspiratory flow profiles through inhalers connected to an NGI.
A few new devices were on show too –Manta Devices had their Torus DPI technology.
There were three and a half days of quality presentations, with sessions covering Emerging Markets through to Evaluating Patient Use – including an interesting presentation on the rapidly evolving regulatory requirements in China by Maozhong Li of the State Food and Drug Administration. It was great to hear such a diverse range of talks, clearly demonstrating the growth in the sector, both geographically and in knowledge.
RDD will return to Europe for 2013, and is to be held in once again in Berlin on May 21-24. So a big thanks to the organisers (Joanne, Richard and Peter) for another fantastic event – and we all look forward to 2013…
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