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Press Clipping / Mar 31, 2020

Covid-19: Hand sanitiser effort continues

Speciality Chemicals Magazine, March 31, 2020

Covid-19: Hand sanitizer donated by Hovione | Hovione

Chemical companies continue to invest in hand sanitiser in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. A large number of them are now producing in significant volumes.

Ineos, the largest European producer of the two key raw materials - isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and ethanol – has announced its intention to produce 1 million bottles of hand sanitiser/month from each of three newly built facilities in the UK, Germany and France.

As of the end of March, the company has hit its target of building the first plant near Middlesbrough, UK. It will supply hospitals free of charge “during the crisis period” and is in discussions with retailers.

Dow announced on 30 March that its sites at Auburn, Michigan; South Charleston, West Virginia; Seneffe, Belgium; and Hortolândia, Brazil “possess the necessary raw material handling, mixing and packaging capabilities and will produce hand sanitiser”. They join the site at Stade, Germany, which is already manufacturing it.

Dow, like Ineos, was already producing raw materials, said that it could adapt its capabilities for downstream production with “little to no impact to normal operations”. Auburn can produce 7 tonnes/week and similar volumes are expected at the other sites. Once all are at full production, the company expects to produce 200 tonnes.

All of the hand sanitiser that will be produced has been allocated, with the majority for donation to state and regional health systems and government agencies for distribution. It will also be distributed to Dow production sites to help protect frontline employees. The first deliveries are expected to begin in the first week of April.

Plant-based ingredients firm Roquette has adapted one of its pilot lines at its site in Lestrem, France, to manufacture about 5,000 litres/week of a hydro-alcoholic disinfectant solution. The first shipments were sent to Lille University Hospital Centre, the French Blood Donors Organisation and to other local health facilities, in coordination with the Hauts-de-France Regional Health Agency and the local authorities.

In Germany, Wacker donated 15,000 litres of hand sanitiser for the production of disinfectants to Bavarian hospitals and care facilities at the request of the state Ministry of Economic Affairs. The alcohol needed, 11,000 liters of 2-propanol, was transported from Nünchritz, Saxony, to the Gendorf chemical industry park in Bavaria to be mixed and sent to an official distribution centre.

Swiss pharmaceutical CMDO Siegfried is also supplying disinfectant in those regions where it operates production sites, including the Swiss cantons of Aargau and Valais and around Minden in Germany. “The service including delivery is free of charge to the extent possible,” the company said, adding that it will not supply private or commercial organisations.

Meanwhile, Croda International said that it has gifted enough glycerine to regular customers to manufacture five million 250 ml bottles of hand sanitiser, assuming 2% glycerine content. It is also donating saponin vaccine adjuvants to projects working on a vaccine. The company plans to review with customers where more glycerine could be gifted.

Similarly in the US, Amyris, which is in discussions for the testing of its fermentation-derived squalene as a vaccine adjuvant for a Covid-19 vaccine, has launched its own No Compromise Pipette Baby branded hand sanitiser. The company said that it “will not price its hand sanitiser at a premium, and plans to donate part of the supply to front-line health staffers and medical personnel”. It plans to produce 30,000 units in the first few weeks.

Portugal’s Hovione began producing IPA- and ethanol-based hand sanitiser to a WHO formulation at tonne-scale for itself when supplies were short, it has emerged. The company, another major pharmaceutical CDMO, is now supplying the material free to Portuguese hospitals. Volumes were expected to reach 30 tonnes by the end of the month.

Earlier in March, Lanxess added a second shift at its site in Sudbury, UK, to boost production of Vikron sanitiser. Earlier, BASF announced plans to produce hand sanitisers at Ludwigshafen and supply them to hospitals in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. The company has now reallocated tonnes of raw materials, especially IPA, for making the sanitisers and secured legal official permission to make them.

Similarly, Huntsman and Syngenta began making hydro alcoholic solution to produce hand sanitiser at Monthey, Switzerland, for free-of-charge supply to hospitals and pharmacies in the Canton of Vaud and the General Hospital in Lausanne. Plans were to ramp up production to 3-5 tonnes/week. Arkema has repurpose da production line at its Rhône-Alpes Research Centre in order to make 20 tonnes/week of alcohol-based solution to be distributed free of charge for the mass restocking of public hospitals.

The effort is not limited to chemical companies, of course. Flavours and fragrance giant Firmenich has shifted production at La Plaine, Switzerland, to disinfectant solution, while luxury goods maker LVMH and many manufacturers and distillers of spirits on both sides of the Atlantic have also switched production.

 

Read the article at Specchemonline

 

 

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The investment includes both continuous and batch tableting capabilities, as well as connect spray drying with tablet production at its East Windsor campus. Hovione, a Portugal-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), plans to install a continuous tableting line at its East Windsor, New Jersey campus, adding drug product manufacturing capacity and an integrated pathway from amorphous solid dispersion production through commercial tablet manufacturing. The $35 million investment will bring the first ConsiGma CDC Flex system to Hovione’s recently opened 89 Twin Rivers facility. The line is expected to be commissioned in late 2027 and will support both continuous and batch operation at throughputs ranging from 1 to 200 kilograms per hour, according to the announcement. The system will allow customers to use the same equipment for development, clinical, and commercial production, with formulation development possible using as little as 1.5 kilograms of material. Hovione said the line will also be equipped for containment to 1 microgram per cubic meter to support the handling of highly potent compounds. The new capability will also connect Hovione’s spray-drying operations with tablet manufacturing at the East Windsor campus. The company recently opened a 31,000-square-foot facility at the campus with two commercial-scale spray dryers for manufacturing amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs), completing a $100 million investment in its New Jersey operations. Hovione said the integrated setup will allow customers to move from formulation and particle engineering through tablet production under one quality system, reducing technology transfer requirements and eliminating traditional scale-up between development and commercial production. The ConsiGma CDC Flex platform was jointly developed with GEA as part of a collaboration that began in 2022, the company said. The system incorporates automated process controls and process analytical technology for real-time monitoring during production. Hovione already operates continuous tableting technology at its Loures, Portugal site. In August, the company completed a more than €40 million expansion of its tablet development and manufacturing center there, adding a second commercial-scale tableting line and increasing the center's manufacturing area by 25%. The East Windsor installation will extend Hovione’s continuous tableting capabilities to the U.S. and expand its integrated drug development and manufacturing services for oral solid dosage products. Read the full article at Pharma Manufacturing 

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Pharma Manufacturing, 6 October 2026

Hovione to add $35M continuous tableting line at New Jersey site

Oct 06, 2026

Hovione, a globally integrated pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), will commission the world’s first ConsiGma CDC flex – a next generation continuous tableting line – at its East Windsor, New Jersey (USA) campus in late 2027. The line will be installed at 89 Twin Rivers, Hovione’s recently opened facility, expanding the company’s drug product capabilities and strengthening its integrated pharmaceutical development and manufacturing hub in the US. CDC ConsiGma flex system The project represents an investment of $35 million. Once installed it will create an integrated pathway from amorphous solid dispersion manufacturing via spray drying through commercial tablet production. The new flex will operate in continuous or batch modes across a very broad throughput range (from one to 200 kg/h). Customers will be able to develop a formulation using small quantities of material, down to 1.5 kg, and then run from very small clinical batches to large commercial batches using the same equipment. This is enabled by specialised design within the flex to effectively switch between continuous blenders of various sizes. Additionally, the line will be installed for containment to 1 µg/m³, supporting highly potent compounds. Continuous tableting is reshaping manufacturing of oral solid dosage medicines and is well suited to programmes in which speed, supply resilience and efficient use of high-value active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are priorities. Inline process analytical technology (PAT) and automated controls also provide real-time quality monitoring. In parallel, the 2022 adoption of ICH Q13 regulatory framework, guidance specifically for continuous manufacturing of drug substances and drug products, provides harmonisation across the US, Europe and Japan. As of 2024, 17 products manufactured under the international guidance have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alone.  Developed jointly with GEA, the ConsiGma CDC flex platform also incorporates SimpleCT, a suite of automation and control tools with smart interfaces that supports a single process from development to commercial supply. Designed for versatility and ease of use, these innovative developments simplify operation, improve efficiency and containment, and enhance operator safety. Read the full article at Pharma Press UK 

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Pharma Press Global, 6 October 2026

Hovione to commission world’s first ConsiGma CDC flex, bringing next-generation continuous tableting to the US

Oct 06, 2026

Key Takeaways Commissioning a US-based ConsiGma CDC Flex line enables end-to-end spray drying-to-tablet manufacture within a single site and quality system, reducing comparability and technology-transfer burdens. Elimination of conventional scale-up is enabled by using the same equipment from early development through commercial supply, minimizing engineering runs and conserving scarce API. Operational flexibility spans batch or continuous modes and 1–200 kg/h throughput, with scale adjustment achieved by switching continuous blenders rather than replatforming processes. High-containment design to 1 µg/m³ expands suitability for highly potent oral solid-dose programs while maintaining integrated development-to-commercial workflows. Regulatory momentum for continuous manufacturing is supported by ICH Q13 harmonization, increasing FDA approvals, and platforms leveraging inline PAT and automated control suites for real-time quality assurance. Hovione announced on Oct. 5, 2026, that it will commission the ConsiGma CDC Flex, a next-generation continuous direct compression tableting platform jointly developed with GEA. The investment is designed to link amorphous solid dispersion manufacturing via spray drying with commercial tablet production at a single US site operating under one quality system. The line will run in either continuous or batch mode at throughputs from 1 to 200 kg/h. Formulation development can begin with as little as 1.5 kg of material, and the same equipment can then support everything from very small clinical batches to large commercial runs, enabled by a design that allows the system to switch between continuous blenders of different sizes. The installation will also be contained to 1 µg/m³ to accommodate highly potent compounds. "Hovione will be the first company in the world to offer the ConsiGma® CDC Flex, bringing this next-generation technology with unprecedented flexibility, simplicity and cost-efficiency in continuous tableting," said Marco Gil and António Almeida, co-CEOs, Hovione, said in a press release. "This investment also advances our strategy of building integrated capabilities close to customers in key markets. By adding this new line at East Windsor, we are broadening access to this technology in the U.S. and giving customers a more direct and accelerated path for developing and commercializing complex oral medicines." What Does a Single Development-To-Commercial Line Change? For formulators and process engineers, the most consequential claim is the removal of traditional scale-up. Moving a process from development equipment to commercial equipment typically requires engineering runs, bridging work, and consumption of scarce API, all of which weigh heavily on early programs with limited material. "Installing the CDC Flex at 89 Twin Rivers makes continuous tableting part of an integrated US development and manufacturing workflow," said David Basile, Vice President of Technical Operations, Hovione, in the press release. "Customers can move from formulation and particle engineering to commercial tablets with one Hovione team and one quality system, eliminating traditional scale-up while gaining greater production flexibility, process control and supply continuity." Co-locating spray drying and tableting is also significant because amorphous solid dispersions remain a primary solubility-enhancement route for poorly soluble molecules, and transferring intermediates between sites or vendors adds technology transfer and comparability burdens. The new line builds on the company's earlier US expansion; Hovione recently completed a $100 million investment to bolster US capacity in particle design, amorphous solid dispersions via spray drying, and batch and continuous tableting. How Is the Regulatory Environment Shaping Continuous Tableting Adoption? The company points to the 2022 adoption of ICH Q13, which provides harmonized guidance for continuous manufacturing of drug substances and drug products across the US, Europe, and Japan. Hovione reports that, as of 2024, FDA alone had approved 17 products manufactured under the guidance. Speaking on ICH Q13, FDA's Kelley Burridge, PhD, "Perceived barriers to continuous manufacturing have been falling one by one," and noted an FDA publication showing faster approval times for products with continuous manufacturing elements than for comparable batch products. The platform incorporates inline process analytical technology and automated controls for real-time quality monitoring, along with SimpleCT, an automation and control suite intended to support a single process from development through commercial supply. For sponsors weighing supply resilience and regional sourcing, the East Windsor installation extends a capability that Hovione says only it currently offers as a contract development and manufacturing organization.   Read the full article at PharmTech.com  

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