Joanne Peart

Respiratory Drug Delivery Europe 2007

This year’s international Respiratory Drug Delivery (RDD) meeting was held in Paris, France between 17–20 April. Approximately 380 delegates participated in this meeting, which included many exceptional presentations covering many facets of pulmonary and nasal drug delivery. Meeting participants traveled from 19 countries (including India, Japan, Australia and Brazil), with most originating from Europe and the USA. We were a diverse group of Scientists (32%), Senior Scientists (17%), Sales, Marketing and Business professionals (26%), CEOs and Managing Directors (11%), Process and Packaging technologists (13%), Regulators (1%), and Recruiters (1%) representing academia, government and the pharmaceutical industry. RDD Europe 2007 continued our 20-year tradition of showcasing the latest advances in pulmonary and nasal drug delivery using a variety of formal and social activities designed to promote networking and scientific exchange. The 2007 conference, collaboratively organized by RDD Online and our meeting partners, Ing. Erich Pfeiffer GmbH and Valois Pharmaceutical Division, included seven podium sessions, an afternoon of interactive workshop presentations (participants chose four from a choice of 12; BOX 1), and a scientific exhibition and poster session that ran for the duration of the meeting (FIGURE 1). Breaks, meals and social events were designed to promote networking and scientific exchange between the formal sessions by clustering activities around the main auditorium and exhibit spaces. Workshops presented by pharmaceutical supply companies, contract research organizations, consulting entities, industry consortia and equipment manufacturers were a venue that allowed small group interactions between scientists sharing niche interests and those with technical questions associated with nasal and pulmonary product development, commercialization, testing and regulatory approval. These increasingly popular workshops, organized by Pfeiffer and Valois, were a venue for interesting presentations and open discussions describing improvements in the manufacturing sciences surrounding inhalers. Regulatory initiatives have been adopted over the last few years to