History

Celebrating 35 Years of the Drug Delivery to the Lungs Conference

The Drug Delivery to the Lungs conference (DDL) is the premier conference and industry exhibition which is dedicated to pulmonary and nasal drug delivery.

The focus is on providing a forum to present through podium and poster presentations recent developments in the field of inhalation therapy.

The three-day conference consists of a programme of lectures covering five session themes.  Each year the DDL Committee invite a long serving respiratory health professional to deliver the commemorative DDL Lecture as a way of recognising their significant scientific accomplishments achieved in respiratory health.  The lecture programme also features a slot dedicated to junior researchers; The Pat Burnell Award encourages students to present their work as a podium and poster presentation and from the finalists who present, a winner is awarded £500 and invited to attend the reviewing panel for the same award the following year.

In 2017 the DDL Committee introduced an award to recognise specific individuals who are early on in their career in inhalation science who have achieved significant scientific accomplishment or innovation. The winner of the DDL Emerging Scientist Award presents their research as a podium presentation at the conference as well as receiving a £1,000 prize and certificate.

Alongside the lecture programme the conference presents an impressive industry exhibition with over 115 companies participating in the event.  The exhibition is accessible to both the well-known larger pharmaceutical organisations as well as the new smaller businesses looking to have access to this highly successful forum for networking and the exchange of knowledge.


The first DDL meeting was held in 1989 at the Glaxo (now GSK) Ware site and hosted in excess of 100 delegates to the one day programme of lectures.  Run by a sub-committee of The Aerosol Society, the DDL conference proved to be a great success and it was agreed the conference should be continued to be held annually.  With primarily one main sponsor supporting the event the conference was held at a number of different venues around the UK for the first 4 years.

In 1994 DDL held its 5th conference at Church House Conference Centre in the heart of Westminster, London.  This was considered a great venue as it was not only excellent for travel links but it also had an interesting history being an alternative seat of Parliament during air raids in the Second World War.  The DDL conference stayed on at Church House for another 9 years and grew to a two-day event.

 

Through its success the conference then had to move in 2005 to accommodate its growing number of sponsors and delegates which lead the organisers to choose its current venue in Edinburgh at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

DDL continues to grow year on year and now welcomes over 1000 attendees, both at the face to face event in Edinburgh and virtually with our live streamed lectures.  DDL also boasts 115 industry exhibitors from all around the globe.  It is said to be the highlight of the conference calendar as it not only provides a focused and relevant scientific programme, but it is accessible to all, friendly and an excellent conference for networking on the run up to the festive period.

 

 

 

Highlights from DDL2022.