The use of novel therapies for asthma was a topic that received much attention at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) [San Diego, US; March 2000].'Application of molecular biology to the discovery of novel pathways to inhibit allergic tissue responses is becoming a reality',said Dr Stephen Holgate from the University of Southampton, UK, during a plenary session on immune modulation for the treatment of asthma. Promising results from the first multidose trial of interleukin (IL)-4 receptor in adults with moderate, inhaled corticosteroid-dependent asthma were presented at a late-breaker session.