RDD Europe celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2015
Approximately 450 OINDP experts gathered May 5-8 in Antibes, France for the 10th anniversary iteration of RDD Europe, which featured scientific presentations and posters, a series of workshops, a technical exhibition, and numerous networking opportunities.
Organized by RDD Online and Aptar Pharma, RDD Europe began in Paris in 2005, with about 300 OINDP specialists in attendance. Subsequent meetings have taken place biennially, in alternate years from the US-based Respiratory Drug Delivery Meetings.
To celebrate the anniversary, RDD Europe 2015 held a gala “White Night” dinner at Les Plages des Pirates in Juan les Pins, under a marquee erected on the beach. Attendees largely complied with the organizers’ request to wear white clothing, and they further accessorized with white sunglasses, scarfs, and hats provided before hitting the dance floor.
The celebration — which was praised as “exceptional” by attendees, according Richard Dalby of RDD Online — was well warranted, the organizers say. Aptar Pharma’s Pierre Carlotti explains, “For pharmaceutical companies, ten years is short; but when it comes to RDD Europe and all of the knowledge that has been presented and the progress of knowledge, ten years is a lot.”
Keeping up with that progress and keeping the meeting fresh is a priority, notes Dalby: “We are working hard to ensure our exceptionally loyal audience benefits from our proven ability to find new speakers, a wider international perspective, and divergent viewpoints.”
Over the past 10 years, he adds, “RDD meetings pioneered events such as workshops, Posters on the Podium and informal networking events in the past, and this year we were the first to introduce our audience to technologies and opportunities in other pharmaceutical fields with a view to spurring new scientific innovations and commercial prospect opportunities for inhaled products.”
The audience has grown in its diversity as well as in numbers. In his remarks opening the scientific program, RDD Online’s Peter Byron reported that the approximately 450 attendees came to Antibes from 32 countries, with 63% hailing from Europe, 26% from the US and Canada, and the remainder from the rest of the world, including India, China, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, and Australia. Of those 80% came from industry, 15% were academics, and the remaining 10% included mostly regulators and consultants.
The growing attendance necessitated a change in the type of venue, and for the first time in its history the meeting took place in a conference center, the newly-built Palais des Congrès d’Antibes, instead of in a large hotel. “I was a little nervous about moving away from the all under one roof concept to a convention center plus hotels,” Carlotti admits, “but I think this convention center is the perfect size. In fact, it’s actually customized to our specifications.”
