Aims : This session will highlight the latest developments and controversies in airways disease. Four key areas will be covered that have provided critical new observations in the past year that will help to diagnose and treat subsets of patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The new observations range from novel ways of defining the mechanisms that underpin the disease in an individual patient by using the appropriate selective biomarkers (molecular phenotyping) to how this information can shape new targeted approaches to the treatment of asthma and COPD (biological agents in airways disease). The session will also cover the role of macrolides for treating severe asthma exacerbations and what this can reveal about disease mechanisms and how we can use blood biomarkers to identify the COPD patients who could benefit from current and novel therapies. At the end of this session, delegates will have the most up-to-date, clear and practical take-home knowledge relating to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of severe asthma and COPD.