While historically, inhaled drugs have been used for the treatment of asthma, COPD and other respiratory diseases, inhalation medicines have experienced a recent increase in consideration as an alternative drug administration route for systemic applications such as insulin therapies for diabetes due to their promise of faster pharmacological onset and reduced adverse effects. Delivery to the lungs promises immense benefits to patients and pharmaceutical companies alike. Dr Sarah Zellnitz at the Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering (RCPE) analyses why the industry has not been able to realise the full potential.