Loures, Portugal, December 29th, 2008 - Hovione announced today the appointments of Roger Viney, PhD as Director of Sales & Marketing Europe/Asia, Thomas Eisele, PhD as General Manager R&D and Mr. Steve Beagle as Director of Sales & Marketing, North America

Dr. Viney leads Hovione’s Sales & Marketing outside North America and is based at Hovione in Loures, Portugal. Mr. Steve Beagle leads Hovione‘s Sales & Marketing for the North America territory and is based at our Technology Transfer Center in New Jersey, USA. Both Dr. Viney and Mr. Beagle are responsible for the development of Sales and Marketing strategies in line with the strategies of Hovione´s four Business Units, Exclusive, Particle Design, Generics and Pharma. Dr. Thomas Eisele is responsible for the Corporate R&D and reports to the CEO. The R&D group includes Process Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Particle Design, Project Management and Pilot Plant.

“We are pleased to welcome Roger, Thomas and Steve to the Hovione team”, said Mr. Guy Villax, Chief Executive Officer. “All these three individuals have a distinguished track record in the industry and their extensive experience will be an invaluable resource to the Company and broadens the executive management team at an important stage in the growth of our business”.

“I am delighted to join a successful and dynamic company like Hovione and I hope to be able to make a significant contribution to its profitable growth”, said Dr. Viney.

“I’m excited to join a successful and highly appreciated Company like Hovione and will do my utmost to contribute to the further operational development and profitable growth of Hovione”, said Dr. Eisele.

“It is of the utmost importance for me to select a best-in-class company poised for growth with a distinct job culture. This culture would encompass a passion for science specifically pharmaceutics, a robust management group of proven leaders, and a team approach to solving complex problems to the customers’ approval over and over again. For me only one company fit all this criteria, it is the Hovione Group,” said Mr. Beagle. “I am honoured to be part of this team”.

Prior to joining Hovione, Dr. Viney held various positions at Rhone-Poulenc/Rhodia from 1993 to present, most recently in Global Business Management. Prior to that Dr. Viney worked in senior roles in Sales, Marketing and Technical Management.

Dr. Eisele worked in Switzerland for 13 years in the area of Custom Research and Custom Manufacturing at CarboGen-Amcis, Rohner and SynphaBase. During that time Dr. Eisele held several positions in R&D, Marketing & Sales, Global Business Development, Shared Services and General Management. Prior to that, Dr. Eisele started his professional career at Nycomed in the area of Medicinal Chemistry.

Mr. Beagle has a diverse 24-year history working in global roles within the pharmaceutical industry ranging from product management to sales & marketing. He is well known in the pharmaceutical manufacturing community and brings a wealth of knowledge to this position. Most recently Steve was at DSM where he was Senior Director of Business Development. Prior to this position Steve was at Stiefel Laboratories where he held management positions in Business Development and Technical Service. Steve has also worked for BASF, American Cyanamid, and R.W. Greeff.

About Hovione
Hovione is an international group specializing in the development and compliant manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients, serving exclusively the pharmaceutical industry. With a 50-year track record, Hovione offers advanced technologies as well as APIs for all drug delivery systems, from oral to injectable and from inhalation to topical applications. With FDA inspected plants in Europe, the Far East and the US, Hovione is committed to the highest levels of service and quality. Specializing in complex chemistry and in particle engineering, Hovione offers all services related to the development, manufacture and pre-formulation of both new chemical entities (NCEs) and existing APIs for off-patent products.