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Press Release / Nov 10, 2026

Hovione appoints Guy Villax as Chairman of the Board of Directors

Guy Villax to assume the chairmanship of the family-owned pharmaceutical technology and services group on April 1, 2027

Guy Villax chairman of the board member | Hovione

BAAR, SWITZERLAND, November 10, 2026 — Hovione Holding AG today announced the appointment of Guy Villax as Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective April 1, 2027.

Guy Villax will succeed Stefan Doboczky, who will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of Hovione on the same date. The appointments are part of a planned leadership transition intended to ensure continuity, clarity of responsibilities and alignment between Hovione’s Board, shareholders and executive management.

Guy Villax served as Hovione’s Chief Executive Officer from 1997 to 2022, leading the company through 25 years of international growth and development. Since stepping down as CEO, he has remained involved with Hovione as a non-executive Director. A member of Hovione’s founding family, he has spent much of his career in the pharmaceutical industry and has played an active role in several industry organizations. His appointment reflects his knowledge of Hovione, experience in the healthcare sector and the Villax family’s long-term commitment to the company.

Founded in 1959, Hovione is a family-owned pharmaceutical technology and services group serving the industry worldwide, with more than 2,600 employees, four FDA-inspected production and R&D sites in Europe, the United States and China, and recognized expertise in spray drying and continuous tableting.

This appointment reflects the long-term commitment of Hovione’s shareholders to the company, its people and the industry it serves, while providing continuity at Board level as Hovione enters its next phase of development.

Sofia Villax, Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Governance and Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors, said:

“This is a natural and planned evolution in Hovione’s governance. Guy’s appointment provides continuity and reinforces the long-term perspective that has always guided Hovione. It reflects our family’s commitment to the company, its people, customers and the pharmaceutical industry. We remain committed to building Hovione for the long term and investing in the capabilities and innovation that enable us to contribute to our industry.”

Guy Villax, Chairman-designate of Hovione, said:

“It is an honor to take on the role of Chairman of Hovione. I have spent much of my professional life in this industry and remain committed to its purpose and to the role Hovione can play in advancing it. As Chairman, my focus will be on leading the Board and supporting Management in pursuing Hovione’s long-term strategy and continuing to invest in science, technology and our people. This will help us remain a trusted partner to our customers, through whom we fulfil our mission of serving patients around the world. I look forward to working with the Board and Management Team as Hovione enters its next chapter.”

About Hovione
Hovione is an international company with over 65 years of experience in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing operations. As a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization CDMO), it has a fully integrated offering of services for drug substances, drug product intermediates and drug products. The company has four FDA inspected sites in the USA, Portugal, Ireland and China and development laboratories in Lisbon, Portugal and New Jersey, USA. Hovione provides pharmaceutical customers services for the development and compliant manufacture of innovative drugs, including highly potent compounds, and customized product solutions across the entire drug life cycle. In the inhalation area, Hovione offers a complete range of services – from API and formulation development to manufacturing, capsule filling, and devices. The company is dedicated to patients, innovation and technology, international growth, and the creation of sustainable value for its customers, partners and shareholders.

For more information, please contact:

Miguel Jeronimo
Head of Global Communications
Tel: +351 934 013 549

Scott Santiamo
Sr. Manager, Global Communications
Tel: +1 718 344 5843

 

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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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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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