Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1276475
A review of the transformation to Digital RDD 2020, due to COVID-19, and a summary of current plans for the RDD Conference Series in 2021 (including RDD Europe 2021), plus a look ahead to RDD 2022. The Respiratory Drug Delivery Conferences: Digitally Augmented The Organizers of the Respiratory Drug Delivery Conference Series years of RDD conferences. e Charles G. iel Award for Out- standing Research and Discov- ery in Respiratory Drug Delivery was awarded to Jeff Weers, the "Father of Particle Engineering" and Emelie Landh from the Wool- cock Institute of Medical Research received the VCU RDD Peter R. Byron Graduate Student Award. It is not yet possible to foresee how COVID-19 will alter the structure of future RDD conferences but here's a summary of our plans: RDD Asia 2020 RDD Online and Aptar Pharma have made the difficult decision to cancel RDD Asia 2020 and instead concentrate on planning RDD Asia 2022, which will be held in November 2022. Lock- downs and evolving health and travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic pose unique challenges to participating in, and organizing, a safe and qual- ity conference in India in 2020. RDD Europe 2021 is event will go ahead in Antibes, France, May 4-7, 2021 with dig- ital enhancements intended to increase the value of the confer- ence and with contingencies in place to deal with the possibility of reduced capacity due to ongo- ing social distancing and sanitiza- tion requirements. ese enhance- ments will also ensure we are ready for a switch to a virtual format if that becomes necessary. e meet- ing will include: • In-Depth Discussions of the developing issues surrounding aerosol drug delivery including ere are usually three Respiratory Drug Delivery conferences held every two years. Large, diverse audiences attend RDD ® (in the United States), RDD Europe and RDD Asia to remain on top of important developments in pul- monary and nasal drug delivery, share their scientific and com- mercial advances and meet col- laborators and suppliers. 2020 has been a year no one will forget, as COVID-19 has impacted our per- sonal and professional lives. For would-be attendees and organizers of the RDD conference planned for California, the pandemic rep- resented a challenge, but more importantly, an opportunity. Digital RDD 2020 is year, most conferences con- cerned with drug delivery to the lungs and nose were cancelled. While necessary to protect public health, it means that quality sci- ence from international experts goes unreported, and compa- nies are deprived of ways to share their innovations with customers and clients. Networking and col- laboration become victims of the coronavirus. erefore, armed with 28 peer-reviewed scien- tific papers from internationally known opinion leaders, 96 poster papers and encouragement from long-time sponsors, presenters, exhibitors, media partners and participants, we decided to run a virtual event instead. "Digi- tal RDD 2020—A COVID-19 Defying Conference" began April 26, six weeks after it became clear that hosting the conference in California would be impossible. e majority of speakers recorded their presentations, additions to the scientific program were made by the International Pharma- ceutical Aerosol Consortium on Research & Science (IPAC-RS), and platinum sponsors (Aptar Pharma, Kindeva Drug Delivery and Vectura) presented seminars on hot topics. Innovative poster styles joined traditional formats and exhibitors outdid themselves with an array of web-based pre- sentations replacing their usual tabletop displays. More than 460 individuals actively participated to make the conference a success. Admittedly, there was no Califor- nia sunshine and socializing was done virtually, but Digital RDD 2020 included the hallmark fea- tures of an RDD conference. e Digital Auditorium packaged orig- inal presentations in moderated, themed sessions. When combined with Platinum Sponsor Semi- nars and Posters on the Digital Podium, participants had plenty to watch. Daily e-mails replicated the traditional daily schedule, but presentations continued to be viewed until the conference closed on June 30. Some attendees chose to receive paper copies of the pro- ceedings by mail while others had customizable, online access. e Scientific Poster Session and Digi- tal Technology Exhibition permit- ted interactivity via delegate- to- delegate messaging, with much of this happening during the open- ing week. As always, conference participants received a compli- mentary 12-month subscription to the RDD searchable library containing more than 2,500 peer- reviewed papers presented over 30 6 August 2020 Inhalation organizations Cross-industry