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Press Release / Nov 26, 2024

Hovione Expands Global Spray Drying Capacity with Significant Investment in the USA and Ireland

Hovione has completed significant expansions at its facilities in New Jersey, USA, and Cork, Ireland.

Press Release Site leadership team Hovione Cork

Lisbon, November 25, 2024, Hovione, the specialist integrated CDMO and the leader in spray drying and particle engineering, just completed significant expansions in Europe and the USA. The investments at its East Windsor, New Jersey, and Ringaskiddy, Cork, facilities will significantly increase Hovione's global spray drying capacity and enhance the sites‘capabilities.  

This latest round of investment reinforces Hovione’s position as the global leader in spray drying for pharma applications, an essential technology for enhancing drug solubility and bioavailability. Spray drying converts liquid solutions into fine powders, enabling improved dissolution and absorption of poorly water-soluble drugs. This process is particularly valuable for inhalable therapies and oral formulations with low bioavailability, helping to deliver more effective treatments and ensuring reliable, high-quality healthcare solutions for patients. 

In New Jersey, the investment represents the first step of a multi-year site expansion program, aimed at advancing both spray drying and tableting capabilities. Simultaneously, the Cork facility saw its spray drying capacity increase nearly twofold. Combined, these efforts are creating over 40 new skilled jobs, driving growth and innovation across both locations.

Dr Jean-Luc Herbeaux, Chief Executive Officer of Hovione said: “These expansions, incorporating our latest technologies, reflect Hovione’s unwavering commitment to innovation and manufacturing service excellence. Strengthening our facilities and teams in the USA and Ireland allows us to better serve our customers and provide flexible supply options for both small- and large-scale programs. By increasing our capacity and enhancing our technological capabilities, we are even better equipped to help our customers bring new and more complex drugs to market.”

The investments at both sites are part of Hovione’s long-term strategy to remain at the forefront of pharmaceutical technology. With a 65-year history of continuous improvement, Hovione is driving progress in drug development and manufacturing, offering solutions that enable more effective treatments and improved patient outcomes.

 

About Hovione: 
Hovione is an international company with over 60 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 manufactureof 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, formulation development and manufacturing, capsule filling and devices.

Hovione's culture is based on innovation, quality and dependability. Hovione is a member of Rx-360, EFCG and participates actively in industry quality improvement initiatives to lead new global industry standards.

 

In the picture from left to right: Dr. Till Riehm, Site Manager - Cork, Hovione; Dr. Jean-Luc Herbeaux, CEO, Hovione; Michael McGrath, the European Commissioner Designate for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law; Michael Lohan, CEO, IDA Ireland; Jorge Pastilha, VP Technical Operations - Europe and Asia, and Dr. Paul Downing, Senior Director, Strategic Business Management.

 

 

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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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