DDL 2017 in review

Several of the meeting’s big prizes went to researchers working on delivery of antibiotics via inhalation, including the winners of the new DDL Emerging Scientist Award, Francesca Buttini of the University of Parma and Plumestars. In her award talk, titled, “Engineered Microparticles for DPI construction and Powder Administration Strategy,” Buttini described development of Plumestars’ Tobra PS, a dry powder tobramycin formulation with minimal excipients designed for delivery of a 120 mg dose from a single size 0 capsule.

Two of the finalists for the Pat Burnell New Investigator Award presented research on formulation of drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis, including the winner, Ayasha Patel of King’s College London. Patel presented her work on “Loading, Release and Activity of Inhalable Benzothiazinone-Loaded Human Albumin Nanocarriers for Anti-tuberculosis Therapy.” Finalist Basanth Babu Eedara of the University of Otago described development of crystalline forms of moxifloxacin for the treatment of TB in his presentation titled, “Cocrystal Approach to Reduce the Aqueous Solubility and Dissolution Rate for Improved Residence Time of an Anti-tubercular Drug in the Lungs.”

In addition Patel and Eedara, finalists for the Pat Burnell New Investigator Award included Athina Skemperi of the University of Loughborough (“Further studies on the Drug Deposition Mechanisms of Surface-treated pMDI Canisters”), Cedric Thomas of Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (“Identification of Contaminants on Lactose using Ultrasound Acoustic-AFM. Impact on the Interactions Drug-carrier”,) Jed Wingrove of King’s College London (“Characterization of a Nasal Spray for Nose to Brain Delivery of Insulin in Human Volunteers”); and Irene Rossi of the University of Parma (“Pulmonary Dry Powders containing a Vaccine against Human Papillomavirus.”)

The best industrial poster award at DDL 2017 went to Ingela Niklasson Björn of AstraZeneca for a poster titled, “Multi-Scale Modelling of the Formation of Adhesive Powder Mixtures for Inhalation,” and the best academic poster award went to Judith Heidland of Kiel University for a poster titled, “Nano-in-microparticles for dry powder vaccination – possible for nasal application?”