New, more effective therapies for asthma are urgently needed as public health authorities report alarming trends in asthma morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Some of the agents most likely to benefit patients with this condition include leukotriene D4antagonists and phosphodiesterase IV inhibitors. An update on progress with these research drugs was presented at a meeting sponsored by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), entitled ‘Current Concepts in Asthma Management’ [San Francisco, US; February 1995].