18/06/2026
Following last week’s SMI London 2026 event, one thing was clear: Soft Mist Inhalers are attracting growing attention across the inhaled drug delivery landscape, and the discussions reinforced why.
One takeaway stood out clearly:
For SMIs, the question is no longer simply how we characterise performance. It is how well that characterisation reflects the product, formulation and patient use case.
Across the presentations and discussions, it was clear that SMI performance cannot be understood by looking at the device in isolation. Device design, formulation properties, environmental conditions and patient-relevant use conditions are closely connected.
Rather than applying a standard workflow across all SMI technologies, development teams need to consider whether the method reflects the specific characteristics of the product being developed.
The event also highlighted growing interest in more predictive approaches, including anatomical models, deposition modelling, in silico tools and cell culture systems. As biologics and novel therapeutics become a greater part of the inhaled development pipeline, stronger links between in vitro findings and clinical relevance will become increasingly important.
Robust, relevant and reproducible technologies such as the NGI Cooler™ can support this by helping to control test conditions where evaporation and temperature may influence results.
What should development teams consider when selecting in vitro methods for SMI characterisation?
📧Have questions about your test setup? Speak to our specialists [email protected]
Thank you to the organisers, speakers and everyone we connected with at SMI London 2026 for an insightful and thought-provoking event.
