24 February, 2026
The ninth edition of the award-winning online event, ERS Satellites, is coming up on 3 March. This year’s event will cover the ever-present topics of COPD and asthma, as well as interstitial lung disease and sleep and breathing.
The event’s programme is designed to support audience participation, allowing delegates to ask questions and discuss presentations with the speakers and chairs.
Read more here from topic experts due to feature in the event, who provide insight into exactly what is due to be covered in each session, and why specialists in asthma, COPD, ILD, or sleep and breathing should attend.
COPD – Prof. Nicolas Roche, previous ERS Science Council Chair and speaker at ERS Satellites 2026:
“ERS Satellites will cover a number of key updates in COPD. In the last few years, some biologics have been authorised for the treatment of some COPD patients with a T2 phenotype. This represents a real advance, and other biologics are in development in this indication. But we must also be aware of progress in COPD non-pharmacological management, e.g. in the field of interventional bronchoscopy, integrated care or rehabilitation.
“Besides therapy, huge advances are occurring in COPD. This includes new knowledge of risk factors and trajectories that has important practical implications for primary prevention. In parallel, the diagnostic opportunities are evolving, and must rely on proactive multidisciplinary approaches to identify patients in a timely fashion and allow early intervention.
“On the other end of the spectrum, when the disease has unfortunately reached an advanced stage, palliative care can help a lot of patients. All these aspects are key for patients and must be mastered by their healthcare professionals, which is what makes it all the more important for professionals to attend this year’s Satellites.”
Asthma – Prof. Omar Usmani, ERS Science Council Chair and Co-Chair of ERS Satellites 2026:
“In planning the asthma session this year, we addressed topics that attendees reported they felt were often overlooked or poorly understood and wanted to be better informed.
“In his talk on “Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) for the prevention and treatment of asthma“, Mohamed Shamji will address the mechanisms of AIT and its role as a disease modifying therapy discussing clinical data in both prevention and treatment of allergic asthma, and its potential role in combination with current biologic therapies.
Johanna Feary’s talk on “Asthma in the workplace” will inform us on the assessment, investigation and management of asthma caused by workplace exposures, highlighting some of her research with firefighters and those exposed to silica and giving us some top tips in taking a respiratory occupational history.
In his talk on “A patient-centred approach to understanding the spectrum of asthma management“, António Jaime Correia de Sousa will emphasise the importance of tailoring care to the individual patient. Although there are multiple guideline recommendations on asthma care, his talk will reflect on the everyday reality of the barriers and challenges facing patients to accessing asthma care and treatment across the globe.
The evolving therapeutic landscape of asthma can, at times, be confusing. Florence Schleich will guide us through this with a pragmatic approach on how to do it and when in her talk on “Updates in Asthma treatment – AIR, MART and Biologics: How to do it and when“.
With these four keynote talks, the asthma session will enrich our knowledge addressing aspects of patient care that we may not have thought of, were unsure about, or needed to reflect on from the patient perspective.
Interstitial lung disease – Prof. Michael Kreuter, Head of ERS Assembly 12 and speaker at ERS Satellites 2026
“Interstitial lung disease remains one of the most challenging fields in pulmonology. It is challenging for a number of reasons, including for symptom burden, especially cough – which is one of the topics covered in the ILD session.
“It is also challenging due to differences in prevalences or causes of diseases like sarcoidosis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis – two topics with significant new insights in recent years which will also be discussed during ERS Satellites.
“One of the most major topics to be covered in the session – often neglected but extremely important – is non-pharmacological management of ILDs, a field with growing evidence and high patient satisfaction. There is a lot to learn about it at ERS Satellites!”
Sleep and breathing – Prof. Sophia Schiza, Head of ERS Assembly 4 and speaker at ERS Satellites 2026
“For respiratory physicians and sleep and breathing specialists, ERS Satellites 2026 will provide the latest scientific advances on patients with neuromuscular and chest wall disorders – in whom early recognition of sleep-related breathing disorders, accurate diagnosis and individualised therapeutic strategies are highly important for fruitful Patient-Reported Outcome Measures.
“In the sleep and breathing session, we will also discuss the latest findings in OSA, towards prediction, phenotyping, risk stratification, effective treatment recommendations and follow-up strategies, and a critical review of what the real-world data showing for improved patient cardiovascular outcomes utilizing best clinical practice.
“Additionally, artificial intelligence and machine learning are rapidly evolving in the sleep field. With this in mind we will discuss how these tools can transform diagnosis, risk stratification, personalised treatment plans and follow-up strategies towards patient-related outcomes – along with their limitations, availability and reimbursement issues.
“ERS Satellites provides a unique opportunity for clinicians, experts, and researchers to interact and discuss the latest developments in their respective fields – I’d therefore encourage you to join us and improve innovation and patient-related outcomes.”