Press Room

This year Hovione celebrates its 40th anniversary in the field of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) chemistry and, simultaneously, establishes the basis of its strategy for the next millenium. We have chosen this date to mark a milestone in the evolution of the Company, so as to represent the maturity we have attained as we look back over two generations of progressive growth. Celebrating the past and the future, Hovione assesses it’s management system, strategy and image to reflect our experience as well as our technical and scientific competence. Our future success, like our past, will be based on enhancing our API expertise and on meeting the continuous challenges of the Pharmaceutical Industry. Hovione was founded in Portugal in 1959 by a Hungarian chemist, Ivan Villax, who carried out investigation in the field of semi-synthetic tetracyclines and anti-inflammatory corticosteroids. Behind us are 40 years of accumulated API knowledge described in over 100 innovative process chemistry patents. As we continue to focus on the development and production of active pharmaceutical ingredients, the Company feels well positioned to meet the outsourcing needs of the Pharmaceutical Industry. Hovione has carved a niche for itself synthesizing complex APIs which are highly regulated. Our objectives demand the highest standards of professional competency. Combining focused expertise with quality and state-of-the-art technology, Hovione has become an essential provider to Pharmaceutical Companies worldwide. Hovione not only garantees the development of chemical processes and industrial synthesis of APIs, but offers its customers the technical services that include: Lab scale development Optimization and validation of chemical processes at pilot and industrial scale Kilo-lab and pilot-scale regulated production, including clinical supplies Analytical method development and validation Regulatory filings for IND, NDA (DMF or CMC sections) world-wide Manufacturing contracts for tens of kilos to tens of tons Over the past 10 years Hovione’s evolution entered a new phase as a result of our medium term project, I&DEIA XXI, made possible by the availability of European Community funds destined towards the innovation of Portuguese Industry. In 1987 Hovione had worldwide sales of US$14m and employed a staff of 280. Today, after an investment of over US$45m, the Company invoices about US$50m and employs 500 people. During the last decade, Hovione achieved an increased professionalism in market analysis and product development strategy, and evolved from a family orientated concern to a model of professional and global management. Hovione’s business strategy is based on a deeply rooted knowledge of our target markets: the U.S.A., Japan and the EU. Our factory in Macau, established 15 years ago, benefits from its proximity to the People’s Republic of China for the supply of raw materials. Hovione exports 100% of its production to the most demanding markets in the world, half of which are of products launched less than 5 years’ ago. We invest 8% of sales in R&D, 6% in environmental protection and 5% in quality. Our plants are ISO9000 certified and regularly inspected by the US Food and Drug Administration. With 500 staff worldwide, of which a 100 are at the plant in Macau, Hovione is happy and proud to celebrate 40 years of expertise in API chemistry.

Press Release
This year Hovione celebrates its 40th anniversary

40 Years of Expertise in API Chemistry

Jun 01, 1999

Contrast Media is one of two important areas that Hovione defined as key in its 1994 I&DEIA XXI strategic analysis document, the other being offering custom services to the US majors. Hovione is a technology rich company excelling in both difficult chemistry as well as GMP and regulatory affairs. By always tackling the products that others were not interested in because of their difficulty and always taking a pro-active attitude to meeting (instead of avoiding) FDA's increasing severity and tough standards, Hovione is now well equipped to serve the outsourcing needs of the largest US pharmaceuticals companies. Contrast media is an area where no independent manufacturer of bulk existed, the first products to come off patent did so less than 12 months ago, so it was an obvious area where Hovione's skills could be turned into dollars. The surprise was how technically difficult this really was. A team of 60 researchers at Hovione worked non-stop for three years. Contrast media is an area of very high barriers to entry: one needs large capacity (to be a player you need a capacity well in excess of 50 tonnes/year), great technical competence (to meet purity levels of 99.8% and near sterile quality of tonne size batches), know-how and the industrial scale technology to recycle tens of thousands of tonnes of solvents, and last but certainly not least you need to have the ability to prepare tens of kilos of paper meeting every one of FDA's requirements. These products are in many occasions injected, in a single dose, in quantities of 150g. This is the largest parenteral administration of a chemical to a human. Clearly an area only for the most competent and quality generic firms, the market perceives Hovione as such a company.

Press Release

Contrast Media and Custom Services are two key areas in Hovione's strategic analysis document

May 20, 1996

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