We entered 2008 full of good intentions and many challenges ahead of us, one of those being the preparation of the Golden Anniversary of Hovione coming up in 2009. Before starting to think about how we are going to celebrate the date we have decided it is important to collect all the memories those who have worked with us or have been connected with us over the years may want to share. In this way we will get a first hand description of how, what at the time, was an adventure turned into a worldwide success story.

Of course, we also want to hear from those currently working with us as only thus, can we remember the past, live the present and prepare the future.

Fortunately there are still many who remember our beginnings – the office in Travessa do Moinho do Vento, how we helped Fermentfarma in Milan, the production of Pantofenicol® in the back yard of Asclepius Lab., the installation of our laboratory in Travessa do Ferreiro. Then came the plant in Sete Casas, Loures, to begin with employing about 30 people, now more than 400.

The lengthly and complicated 16 step production of betamethasone which took about 6 weeks, then supplied to Japan, our first main export market; doxycycline delivered to Andorra in 5 kg parcels which then, we later learned, was sent “by donkey" to Barcelona.

Our first contacts with China, the leap forward into the American market, our entrance into the European Union. Our second site in Macau, the professionalism of current Management, our efforts with Health, Safety and the Environment and the establishment of the Technology Transfer Centre in New Jersey – transfer in both directions!. All these reminiscences collected will help us face and overcome with success the challenges of the XXI century, as from the collective memory we can recall and repeat the best, not reinvent the wheel and avoid the errors of the past.

We are interested to know how each of you lived through these years so that those who come after us, today young in age and new at work, will understand how this enterprise started, the ideal of a great man – Ivan Villax. How, against all odds, Ivan managed to succeed in and, in fact, exceed his dream; he often told me that he had never dreamt he would live to see his laboratory would take on such a dimension. He was a fighter who never gave up. Of course, his studies at the Budapest Technical University gave him a preparation not only in chemistry but made him an engineer in the complete sense of the word, he could cope with anything. Ivan was a born optimist and had complete confidence in himself and his chemistry. One of his proudest moments was when his University gave him a Ph.D. on the basis of His life’s work and made him a member of the Senate.

He was a kind man with a huge heart, demanding, with an acute sense of humour and a great chemist. There will be others who, better than I can write about his scientific knowledge, the speed with which he took decisions, how strict he was about staff safety and attention to the environment.

It is important that this history of the first 50 years should be told in the first person thereby being a living memory and with this in mind we have created a site 50anos.hovione.com where you can all tell your stories; fun episodes, thrills, dramas, your first contacts with Hovione, what you expected, what you found, how you managed to join the Team, how you accompanied the development of the Firm, sharing its successes and misfortunes.

We would like to hear from all how have been connected with Hovione and from these testimonies we intend to compile a lasting publication for posterity. It is important to know where we started in order to plan the future.

Diane Villax
Founder
Chairmain of the Board

The 8th and 9th of January last saw the gathering of 62 Hovione managers from Loures, New Jersey and Macau, for another Management Meeting. Two very dynamic and full days that provided the chance to clarify the company’s vision and strategy outlined in the Master Plan and to reflect on:
• How to improve performance and reach the objective of excellence in creating value;
• The innovation process of all our activities;
• “Raising the bar” (improvement of management and leadership skills).

The opportunity was also used to study new forms of short term organisation with the implementation of the four BU’s (Generics, Exclusives, Pharma and Particle Design) and to update the successes and challenges of each BU.

In the last Hovionews, Guy Villax, Hovione’s CEO, declared, in tune with the company’s strategy, his will and the need to show that Toyota’s manufacturing principles also apply to Fine Chemistry. This was one of the great issues discussed at the Management Meeting.

So what is the connection between Toyota and Hovione?
“Lean Thinking” is the term used by James Womack and Daniel Jones to describe a business philosophy, based on the Toyota Production System, which analyses in detail the basic activities involved in a business and identifies what is waste and what is of value, according to the perspective of customers and users. “Lean thinking” originated in the automotive industry but has been implemented successfully in various kinds of companies, including those in the services segment as well as in several other areas such as R&D. At the Management Meeting we welcomed as guest, Pedro Leonardo, director of four factories in Brazil, who spoke to us of his enriching experience with the implementation of Lean, also sharing with us his challenges, his initial scepticism and his successes throughout the years. We then draw lots to choose ten of us to play a Lean game. The team and the observers had the chance to simulate reality and experience some of the benefits of the Lean philosophy, principles and tools.

Our time has come to seize this collective challenge. It is important that together we all go on board with this journey and that there is a joint effort to develop and implement the Lean principles and tools since there are benefits to be gained from its transversal implementation. To be able to seriously embrace this challenge, each of us, either as leader or as agent of change, must contribute to the implementation, working as a team in routine, towards success and when problems occur!

Implementing Lean is like building a house, where we must start by the foundations, followed by the walls, from bottom to the top and then add the roof. Inside is the people, all of us, that gave life to this house. It is vital that everyone knows what is expected of them and how they will contribute to the whole.

The foundations of the house represent the Accountability, Urgency and Leadership, on which we are actively working.

The walls of the house are the various tools, such as the support to process systematization (applied not only to product manufacturing but also to the project management and so many other areas), to problem investigation (8D), to risk assessment (FMEA – Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) and to continuous improvement (Plan, Do, Check, Act).

The motivation to transversally implement the Lean philosophy at Hovione increased after the Management Meeting. Let us all embrace this change! It is up to us all to make this a positive, impelling and successful journey!

This is above all a communication tool whose main goal is the promotion of effective communication among those concerned. Visual Management normally uses visual means, such as boards, display stands, monitors and, often, the product or item itself. It is an extremely effective management tool as it allows for an easy apprehension of the message to be put forward. When we are faced with someone that “unloads” on us a reasonable amount of information without showing us a diagram or something that we may interpret visually, the quantity of information that we apprehend or memorize is reduced. This is where visual management comes in. The evolution of this precious help has today led to the existence of certain basic rules:

• It must be handwritten. It is more time consuming to do it on the computer. Another good reason is that, while writing it by hand, we become more aware of the data. In the case of charts, the same applies, since when done by hand we are forced to do calculations.
• It must be displayed and accessible to all. During an oral presentation, besides listening the staff member also visualizes what is being presented. Those who were not present can always collect the information needed from the display location.
• It must be used for regular meetings. The actual visual means being used (for example, a diagram) can be used as an agenda, as it follows the same presentation sequence every day regardless of whose presenting it.
• It must be regularly updated. Hence the reason to do it manually.
• It must be understood by all parties. Information of a too technical and complex nature that is only accessible to some people, must be avoided. It must be large enough to be read and interpreted from a reasonable distance (around 5 meters). It must simple and to the point, avoiding descriptions and using signs and numbers where possible.

Visual Management, however, is not just about displaying notices and sheets of paper; it is also about tidiness and organisation. What better way to pass the message on than by keeping our own workplace tidy and organised, making it possible to find anything in a short time? This management tool will be gradually implemented in various areas.

The 2nd Forum of the European Qualified Person Association, November 2007, Berlin.
Graça Mata represented Hovione and APIC/CEFIC at this conference which was attended by over 200 delegates from 30 European countries. Graça laid down the expectations of the Active Substance Industry in terms of the responsibilities and duties of the “Qualified Person”, as well as the importance of standardising concepts throughout Europe.

Pharmaceutical International Convention/EMEA, December 2007, London
Luísa Paulo participated, on behalf of Hovione, in a training session for European health authority inspectors, under the theme “Quality Risk Management and Inspections”, organised by the Pharmaceutical International Convention (PICs) in association with the European health authority EMEA. Risk assessment for the Active Substance and Formulation Industries was explained by the six pharmaceutical associations present, who also described how to put it in practice, how to evaluate it during inspections and how the health authorities should use the risk analysis in the inspections.

Hovione LLC was chosen to be a recipient of the East Windsor Township 2007 Business Award. The purpose of the program is to recognize local businesses that make special efforts to improve or contribute to the community. These business efforts may be by way of (1) creating an attractive appearance, for example, through landscaping, flowers, and other enhancements to the physical appearance of their structures and site; or (2) community contributions and service; or (3) providing some manner of community enhancement, for example, through extraordinary job creation, an unusual or special product or opportunity or any community value added aspect related to their business.

Last January and for the second consecutive year, Hovione New Jersey was distinguished by the East Windsor Firemen, for their support along the year. This recognition follows the company’s precious contribution towards the good performance of the fire department within the community. Dave Hoffman received the Merit Plaque on behalf of Hovione, on 15th February last.

SAP went live in Hovione New Jersey (TTC) on the 3rd of December 2007, as expected. It was a lot of work for all involved but the contribution from everyone was outstanding. So far everything has been working smoothly without any major concerns. For the TTC this is a very important accomplishment since it represents another step towards the consolidation of the business and the adoption of truly professional management practices. SAP comes within a period of growth and higher demands for the TTC and will be instrumental in promoting efficiency and allowing for faster and smarter business decisions. SAP will also contribute for a better integration of the TTC within Hovione’s family through an easier access to local information and fully transparent disclosure of financial and operational data.

Hello Friends! My name is Jack Green and I am the Senior Account Manager for the Generics API business group in North America reporting to Carla Vozone at the TTC site. I have over 20 years experience in the Pharmaceutical industry having held various positions in Sales and Marketing, Commercial Development with Boehringer Ingelheim, FMC Biopolymer and most recently as Sales Director for API’s with ChemAgis USA. Some of my personal interests are collecting Early American antiques, Gardening and Skiing. It’s a pleasure to join the Hovione team and be associated with such a fine organization of people with an outstanding reputation in the industry and a strong corporate vision. My background in Pharmaceutical formulations and Actives is very well suited to each of our core business units. From a commercial perspective, Hovione has so much to offer the global Pharmaceutical Industry through our various and differing business Units. As the Pharmaceutical industry continues to evolve and change due to consolidation and related outsourcing, the industry looks to partner with fewer companies that can support and deliver the unique services it requires to be competitive. Companies like Hovione are well positioned to meet the needs and challenges of this diverse industry by providing real solutions through a collaborative partnership. Either through our Exclusive business, Particle Design, Inhalation services or Generic API’s , we can provide a multiple of products and technical services to just about every segment of the Biopharm, Ethical (or big Pharma) and Generic pharmaceutical market. I know few companies that can singularly offer on all these value added services to the Industry. This is a significant commercial advantage which allows Hovione to be well positioned in the years ahead. Over the next few months I will be visiting some of the other Hovione sites and look forward to meeting many of you as well as making a significant contribution to the continued success of Hovione in the future.

This is the 7th year Hovione Macau celebrates the “Magusto”. Gathering Macau’s Portuguese community to celebrate St. Martin’s Day has been an important event over the years. “I found that this event organized by Hovione Macau (HM) reminds our homeland tradition of joining the family and friends together around the firewood to eat chestnuts and drink young wine” said Angela Martinho, new Portuguese staff element at HM.

Hovione Macau’s annual dinner was held at the Wynn Hotel on the 12th November 2007. For this event, apart from the 14 people receiving the 10 and 20 year jubilee awards, Hovione also invited their Managers and direct family. Mr. Guy Villax, Hovione's CEO, recalled 1984, the year in which Hovione was established in Macau; he is now very enthusiastic on the projects underway in China and thanked Hovione Macau for their support and contribution to the growing of the Hovione group.

Macao International Pharmaceutical Expo, the first exhibition for the Pharmaceutical industry, took place in November 2007. Hovione was present in this event that attracted more than 80 exhibitors including Chinese and Western academic organizations, medicine manufacturers and traders.

Photo of the Hovione Macau Team.

Hovione participates as a founding member in the new competitiveness and technology centre “Health Cluster Portugal”, an association of various national entities such pharmaceutical labs, universities and research institutes, created to promote relationships between the various agents of the national technological and scientific system and the health sector companies. This project, headed by Luis Portela, of Bial Laboratories, has had the cooperation of Hovione in trips abroad to visit successful centres such as Medicon Valley, in Denmark, and in various meetings to discuss the objectives of the new centre and its operation model and statutes. Signature of the foundation deed is expected to take place in March.

Solvay Portugal and Hovione are together challenging Portuguese academic and public research centers to submit innovative projects as part of an ideas contest.

This joint initiative, known as the “Solvay & Hovione Ideas Challenge” (SHIC’08), was launched on January 24th. It aims at positioning both companies as active partners for the academic world by recognizing projects capable of generating value in the fields of chemical engineering, chemistry, materials, the environment, fine chemistry and pharmaceutical development.

The contest, which is welcoming entries up until the end of September, has the institutional endorsement of the Portuguese Society of Chemistry, the Chemical Engineering College of the Engineers Chamber, the Pharmaceutical Industry Specialty College of the Pharmacists Chamber and the state’s Innovation Agency. As for the prizes, EUR 10 000 (half in money and the rest as initial project funding) will be handed over to the winners of each of the two awards. Another invaluable part of their ‘prize’ is the opportunity to make privileged contacts with the business community.

The SHIC’08 is open to innovative projects in two different platforms:

- The Solvay award looks for ideas, products or innovative processes preferably in inorganic products, electrochemistry, chlorine and fluoride chemistry, peroxides and detergency, polymers, renewable energies, sustainable chemistry and electronics;

- The Hovione award is oriented towards innovation in ‘batch’ production, new methods in industrial API production, green chemistry oriented to API production, supergenerics, particle engineering, nanotechnology and pulmonary inhalation.

The Challenge is open to all teachers, researchers and students from public higher education institutions, and a specific website www.shic2008.com has been set up in order to receive their entries. The Jury will be comprised of recognized personalities and representatives of both companies and institutional partners. The winners will be announced and handed their awards during a public ceremony in November.

Editors: Isabel Pina • With the collaboration of: Ana Maria Ferreira, Cristina Barradas, Jack Green, Lavinia Emery, Luísa Paulo, Nuno Almeida,  Paulo Carvalho, Peter Villax, Rachel Lai.