In this article, Cláudia Moura, PhD Student; Eunice Costa, PhD, Scientist, Drug Product Development; Filipe Neves, PhD, Senior Scientist, Group Leader, Drug Product Development; all of Hovione, describe how composite formulations - API embedded in an excipient matrix - overcome the challenges in inhalation powder development, and make the case for spray drying as a highly suitable, tunable and scalable particle engineering method for producing them.