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Press Clipping / Jun 21, 2021

Hovione meets increased demand during Covid

Irish Examiner, 21 june 2021

Hovione staff donating hand sanitiser to a St John’s Ambulance crew. Hovione donated 65MT free of charge to over 150 institutions with the help of charities, local community groups, private nursing homes, local hospitals, sporting clubs, and An Garda Síochána, who dispensed the sanitiser in Templemore Training Centre into smaller bottles for HSE-run nursing homes across the country.

Dr. Paul Downing, general manager of Hovione in Cork, reflects on the values driving the company’s years of global success.

When news of a global pandemic broke Hovione, a contract pharmaceutical manufacturing company which helps bring new and off-patent drugs to market, adapted and responded almost immediately. The sudden spike in demand for medicines and for Covid-19 specific treatments required unique mobilisation efforts across the entire Hovione network. “We needed to execute major capital expenditure projects at our sites, maximise operational efficiency, hire additional talent and quickly identify an external partner to expand our overall capacity”, explains Dr Paul Downing, General Manager of Hovione’s manufacturing plant in Cork.

The company, which employs 250 people in Cork and approximately 1,800 more at its other three sites spread over three continents with facilities in Lisbon (Portugal), Macau (China) and New Jersey (USA), has over 60 years experience in the development and compliant manufacture of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Drug Product Intermediates. Hovione began manufacturing hand sanitiser on site in March 2020 for the protection of their team members. Very quickly, they saw public demand grow and in keeping with the company policy of ‘Corporate Citizenship’ this led Hovione Cork to appoint a project team to bring the manufacturing of hand sanitiser to distribution. The hand sanitiser was made readily available for donation to help protect various facilities and institutions across Ireland. The first batch of hand sanitiser was collected for use at St. Stephen’s Hospital in Glanmire in Cork on April 20th. Hovione supplied the sanitiser across Ireland to nursing homes, care facilities, charities and hospitals. The company worked closely with An Garda Siochana to safely distribute hand sanitiser to the HSE — “we organised 65 metric tonne of hand sanitiser to be distributed freely nationally and within the community locally to GAA clubs, churches and other community-based organisations.

Dr. Downing says: “It gave all of us a sense of purpose during a difficult time.” Hovione distributed hand sanitiser free across all of their plants to support the local communities of each country they manufacture in. Dr. Downing explained that when the supply crisis ended in July 2020 the companies who would normally make these sanitising products were back in production so “we stopped and focused on other things”.

He said it was a great privilege to be a part of “this truly global response where we witnessed the pharmaceutical supply chain working together in an unprecedented fashion to treat patients and save lives. I think the global pandemic showed us how important and resilient the life sciences sector is”.

Hovione Cork which took over Pfizer’s former Loughbeg site in Ringakiddy in 2009 plays a significant and strategic role within the Hovione network. The company has seen rapid growth over the last 12 years expanding its production capacity to occupy three separate production buildings at the site.

Last September, in the middle of the Covid pandemic, Hovione announced a partnership with US-based Ligand.

This was to support manufacturing of antiviral Veklury for Covid-19 which meant the company needed to significantly ramp up the production output of Captisol leading to the announcement of 48 new jobs for Cork in October 2020.

Dr. Paul Downing explained that Captisol is used in the formulation of Gilead’s Covid-19 treatment Veklury and Hovione is the sole producer of this key enabling excipient. To meet Captisol demand associated with Veklury, Hovione was producing in one month the quantity it normally produced in a year.

Going forward Dr. Downing said Hovione has an ambitious plan to be the Number 1 innovative, integrated pharmaceutical solution provider to the global pharmaceutical industry by 2028.

“Our mission is to passionately turn any challenge into a solution by collaboration with our partners to develop great medicines. That is a company corporate goal so that requires all our facilities to grow and expand so this expansion plan is across the whole Hovione network including Lisbon, New Jersey, Macau and also obviously Cork”.

The company — which was founded by Ivan Villax with his wife Diane Villax in Lisbon, Portugal in 1959 — recently celebrated 62 years in existence.

“In short we give our customers what they cannot find elsewhere”, says Dr Downing who explains that customers come from the sectors of biotechnology, medium, speciality and large pharmaceuticals and generics pharmaceuticals.

Hovione he says has a unique value proposition.

“We have more than 15 years of experience in pharmaceutical spray drying and have produced hundreds of batches for clinical trials and commercial supplies”.

Sustainability is hugely important

Hovione was one of the first companies to sign up to Business in the Community Ireland’s new Low Carbon Pledge in 2018 to commit to cutting their carbon footprint, report annually on their progress and develop a credible roadmap towards a net-zero economy.

“Here at Hovione we continue to try and be contemporary, practical and pragmatic. We have a large footprint of a site here so we are investigating if we can install solar power.

“We continue to challenge ourselves in reducing our industrial footprint in terms of energy consumption, water consumption and waste generation so this Ligand product for instance that we worked on is very water-intensive and we did a lot of processing improvements in parallel to this huge ramp up to actually reduce energy, reduce solvent, reduce waste and reduce water. Sustainability is at the forefront of what we do and it starts at the very beginning with our R&D in Portugal.”

Dr.Downing says he notices when recruiting younger staff, in particular, they are asking ‘what is your sustainability philosophy, what are you doing to reduce your impact’ so you know it has to be real, it can’t just be gestures”. These concerns he says are embedded in Hovione’s core values and purpose — “sustainability is fully integrated into our business strategy”.

Overall Hovione’s steadfast growth is the result of an integrated synergy that allows the company to serve both the global markets and also to respond to specific customer demands when necessary. The company has a solid legacy of Corporate Social Responsibility — in 2018 Hovione became a Certified B Corp — becoming the first facility in Ireland to have received this Certification. The company’s ‘Safety First, Quality Always’ culture is also something staff are very proud of — “we nurture it each day so that we don’t take it for granted”.

In the coming years Dr. Downing said the company will continue to invest in additional capability and hire additional team members, launch and validate more new products.

He points out that the company is an active member of Biopharmachem Ireland, Cork Chamber as well as Business in the Community Ireland. Hovione sponsors and supports local community initiatives as well as establishing crucial links with the academic and training institutions through its support of STEM — initiatives to encourage take-up of subjects such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics — as well as MTU student placements and the Cork Training Centre.

“We are the first Chemical/Pharmaceutical Company integrating this innovative community of companies that use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. As a Certified B Corporation we want to contribute to redefining success in business meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance, setting out team members for success and personal satisfaction and aspiring to use the power of markets to solve social and environmental problems.”

Promoting career growth, diversity and inclusion

“We employ 250 people and currently have 18 nationalities onsite”, says Dr. Paul Downing, general manager of Hovione’s manufacturing plant in Cork.

Hovione, he says, is a fast, challenging, and dynamic environment with great opportunities for people with all skill sets at whatever age.

Because the market demands different products, you can work on multiple products and multiple projects at the same time. That gives people a real diversity of experience.

“We like to have a balance between promoting from within and recruiting from outside, so if someone has the desire to move within the organisation, these opportunities arise”.

He says that Hovione is constantly developing its talent pool, and is a big supporter of and encourages apprenticeships for young people where they are given the opportunity to gain some very substantial and important skills, allowing them to take up roles as electricians, fitters, quality-control analysts, instrument technicians, as well as automation technicians.

The apprenticeship programme not only provides participants with the necessary technical and professional skills, but it also provides valuable teamwork experience.

“What we do find is that people can have very strong technical and academic skills, but their team collaboration skills require us to invest in further training.

“These skills would be automatically instilled in participants in the apprenticeships programmes.

“In complex and large organisations like ourselves, the interpersonal skills and an ability to work in small teams is important.”

Hovione works with Skillsnet and other local academic institutions to help build capabilities that can take advantage of the many career opportunities available.

“We continue to work with Munster Technological University, Cork Education and Training Board, University College Cork.

“We do college site tours and Masters students’ placements. We work with the IDA on the IBEC EOP programme which, before Covid-19, would see graduates spend six months with us and six months with our sister facility in Portugal, mostly working as process engineers or QC analysts.

“We are starting to think of ways to get more diverse employees, so just before the pandemic hit, we partnered with Ireland’s national autism charity AsIAm.

“They are working to create a society in which individuals with autism are empowered to reach their own personal potential and fully participate in society.

“We believe that there may be certain areas within our sector which are very data-intensive like QC, like engineering, which may present opportunities. We were audited to see if we were an autism-friendly workplace.

“We had to change a few things around, including adapting our cafeteria to ensure it had appropriate lighting and noise levels. Some of my team were given training and we hope to do some work with AsIAm post-Covid, and continue to celebrate diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.”

Read the article at IrishExaminer.com

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In an interview with Executiva, a portuguese media outlet focused on women´s leadership, Diane Villax, co-founder and long-standing leader of Hovione, reflects on her journey and the company’s development over more than six decades. Diane Villax’s career began at a time when few women worked outside the home. At 19, she joined a trading company as a foreign languages correspondent, where she developed essential business skills — including commercial correspondence, banking and export procedures — that later proved instrumental in helping her husband, Ivan Villax, establish Hovione in 1959. From its earliest days operating in the family home in Lisbon, Hovione adopted an international outlook. The company’s first major customers were in Japan, setting demanding quality standards that helped shape its long-term position in global markets. Over the following decades, Hovione expanded its footprint with the construction of its first manufacturing site in Loures (1969), followed by expansion to Macau (1986), the United States (New Jersey, early 2000s) and Ireland (Cork). The company grew into a global organization with more than 2,500 employees — including over 300 scientists — and a reputation as a preferred supplier to leading pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Throughout the interview, Diane highlights the values that have guided the company’s development: a commitment to excellence, a strong work ethic, and a focus on quality and long-term relationships. Although she did not have formal business training, she learned “on the job” and brought discipline, precision and structure to her role — particularly in the company’s early financial and administrative leadership. Now in her nineties and an active member of Hovione’s Board of Directors, Diane Villax remains engaged with the company’s evolution and governance, reflecting a continued commitment to its long-term development. Her story reflects entrepreneurial drive, resilience and long-term leadership — and offers insight into the values that have shaped Hovione’s trajectory for more than six decades. Read the full interview at Executiva.pt (in portuguese).

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Executiva, 23 February 2026

Hovione’s Diane Villax: “I was not brought up to be a business woman”

Feb 23, 2026

Márcio Temtem, vice president, Strategic Business Management, Hovione, addresses molecule complexity, speed, and regionalization via integrated manufacturing. The landscape of small molecule manufacturing is rapidly evolving, according to Márcio Temtem, vice president, Strategic Business Development, Hovione, who provides an expert look into how his firm is evolving their approach as the industry changes. With 17 years of experience at Hovione, a family-owned CDMO with a 66-year legacy, Temtem identifies three pivotal trends currently shaping the industry: increased complexity, accelerated development speed, and the regionalization of supply chains. Temtem observes that small molecules have grown significantly in size and complexity, often requiring multiple chemical steps and high-potency handling. This shift necessitates a specialized "toolbox" to overcome modern bioavailability challenges. Highlighting Hovione's technical approach to these hurdles, Temtem states, "We use a platform called amorphous solid dispersions, produced by spray drying to address this challenge of bioavailability.” This platform represents a core area in which Hovione maintains global leadership, utilizing innovative tools to scale processes efficiently while minimizing the use of APIs. Temtem also mentions the increased influence of AI in drug discovery and deployment, which requires CDMOs to bridge the gap from grams to tons at a much faster pace than in previous years. He further addresses the trend of regionalization, noting the rise of countries such as the US and China prioritizing regional supply chain strategies. He explains that Hovione is uniquely positioned to navigate these new challenges with supply chains through its FDA-inspected sites across three continents. Central to Hovione’s competitive advantage is their integrated manufacturing offer, which combines drug substance and drug product expertise at a single location. Temtem emphasizes the value of this model, stating, “The company… has been investing in an integrated offer, bridging the problems of chemists and formulators all at the same shop.” To support this integration, the company continues to pioneer advanced manufacturing avenues, including continuous flow for drug substances and continuous tableting for drug products. Watch the full video interview or read the transcript at PharmTech.com

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PharmTech, 6 February 2026

Hovione’s Strategy for Complexity, Speed, and Regional Supply Chains

Feb 06, 2026

Hovione’s historic site in Loures has been expanded to meet demand and is now operating at full capacity. This Lisbon-based flagship company has developed innovative production techniques to serve laboratories around the world On the outskirts of Loures, in the periphery of Lisbon, a maze of multicolored pipes covers the walls of the Hovione factory. This industrial site, where signs warn of an “explosive atmosphere,” houses the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients — the core business of this company with Portuguese origins generating annual revenues of more than half a billion euros. “The products that leave here are shipped to every continent,” explains Diane Villax, the family matriarch. At 91, her voice moves effortlessly between English, French, and Portuguese — a cosmopolitan streak inseparable from the history of Hovione and the Villax family, its founders. The epic began with an exile: that of Ivan Villax in 1948. With a toothbrush in one pocket and his chemistry degree in the other, the 23-year-old anti-communist fled his native Hungary with relatives hunted by the Soviet regime. After a stop in Clermont-Ferrand, he dropped anchor in Lisbon, where he met Diane, from a family of sugar industrialists. One year after their marriage, they co-founded Hovione in 1959 with two other Hungarian refugees. The early days were artisanal: the company’s laboratory was located in the basement of the family home. “One of my earliest childhood memories is of adults in white lab coats. I knew how to use a fire extinguisher at six!” smiles Peter Villax, son of Ivan and Diane, who worked for Hovione for more than thirty years. Very early on, the duo expanded internationally, notably into Japan. The 1980s were prosperous years: growth surged at 20% annually. Then transformation accelerated with the arrival of new technologies in the early 1990s. Today, “the time required to move from test tube to industrial scale has been reduced to a few weeks, compared with six months in the past,” notes Peter Villax. The American adventure Sixty-seven years after its creation, the company — now headquartered in Switzerland — employs 2,400 people. Through medicines incorporating its active ingredients, Hovione claims to treats around an estimated 80 million patients worldwide each year. The Loures site has been expanded, and production has spread to Ireland, the United States, and Macao. The cellar at 1 Travessa do Ferreiro, where the story began, is now a distant memory. Little known to the general public, Hovione is nevertheless a key link in the pharmaceutical value chain: it develops and manufactures molecules for 19 of the world’s 20 largest laboratories. Its expansion has been fueled by favorable market conditions. “Pharmaceutical manufacturers increasingly rely on outsourcing for the production of active ingredients,” notes Loïc Plantevin, a pharma specialist at Bain & Company. “Historically, major groups chose to allocate more capital to research than to manufacturing, while biotech companies — which now drive most of the market’s growth — are not designed to build factories.” Far from resting on its achievements, the company has transformed its offering. “While the founders initially focused on generic active ingredients, Hovione has evolved toward more complex molecules and formulations, produced within exclusive partnerships with its clients,” explains Jean-Luc Herbeaux, a French national and the company’s CEO since 2022. This shift reflects a deeper trend. “For several years now, active ingredients have become a more differentiated market and less sensitive to price,” adds Loïc Plantevin. “Competitiveness is now linked to know-how and advanced production technologies, which require substantial investment.” Hovione is the world champion of spray drying, a technology enabling the production of soluble powders. With the expansion of its New Jersey site, the company aims to double its U.S. capacity — a country that accounts for 60% of its sales. Despite Donald Trump’s attacks on the pharmaceutical sector, which he claims to have brought to heel by forcing price cuts, Hovione remains confident. “We are in the U.S. to grow, and that ambition goes beyond the momentum created by the American administration,” assures Jean-Luc Herbeaux. “Our customers there are asking us to help them produce in the United States over the long term.” Commitment to cutting-edge research and the search for talent are deeply rooted in the company’s DNA. “In his later years, my father collaborated with Nobel Prize–winning chemist Geoffrey Wilkinson. Together, they would go to the Hovione lab to run experiments — just ‘for fun,’ as they put it,” recalls Peter Villax. The group is the largest employer of PhD students in Portugal and has forged partnerships with several national universities. “In some ways, Hovione resembles a university,” he continues. “Despite the sensitive nature of our technologies, we publish many academic research papers.” In search of lost sovereignty To preserve cohesion, the Villax family adheres to strict governance. “Unlike many Portuguese family businesses, most members of the third generation do not work in the company,” notes Duarte Pitta Ferraz of consulting firm Ivens in Porto. “Several independent directors sit on the board. The family’s role is to define values and long-term vision, not to manage day-to-day operations.” This responsibility is fully embraced by Jean-Luc Herbeaux. Since joining the group in 2020 as chief operating officer, sales have doubled. “My priority was to refocus the group,” says the engineer, who previously worked for German chemical giant Evonik. “We developed spray drying, invested in a new tablet-manufacturing process, and increased production speed through a new model that allows our clients to access all our services at a single industrial site.” A member of the European Fine Chemicals Group (EFCG), Hovione is actively defending European pharmaceutical manufacturing — a sector under strain. According to a study by the French Union of Organic Chemical Synthesis Industries (Sicos), Europe’s share of global active ingredient production has fallen from 48% to 30% in ten years, to the benefit of India and China. The reasons include production cost gaps — raw materials, energy — as well as the burden of European administrative and regulatory procedures, explains Maggie Saykali, director at the EFCG. “If we start a price war with our Asian competitors, we will not win it,” she admits. “It is better to compete on quality, innovation, and sovereignty over our value chain.” It took the Covid-19 pandemic and severe shortages for Europe to awaken. Last March, the European Commission proposed legislation on critical medicines. But the race against time has already begun. “China is increasingly using pharmaceutical ingredients as a tool of geopolitical pressure,” warns Maggie Saykali. “It is urgent to preserve European players like Hovione, focused on process innovation — which allows medicines to be produced with higher quality and greater environmental responsibility.” With a new site under construction in Seixal, on the southern bank of the Tagus River, the Lisbon star has not finished shining in the orbit of the global pharmaceutical industry. (This is a translation from the original article) Read the original article on lexpress.fr

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