Hovione invests in new formulation facility in Portugal

API manufacturer Hovione is investing an undisclosed sum in specialised formulation capabilities. The first step is the acquisition of a formulation facility adjacent to its process chemistry and particle engineering facility in Loures, Portugal.

This acquisition is a strategic investment to further boost development and manufacturing capabilities for both inhalation and oral dosage forms, the firm said.

The facility will be engineered to enable Hovione to work with highly potent APIs and moisture-sensitive compounds and will have dedicated rooms to allow for concurrent manufacture of these products. The facility will be capable of preparing a wide range of materials suitable for clinical trials, as well as commercial batches meeting global regulatory requirements.

'Over the last decade we have built great knowledge in developing final dosage forms in the area of dry powder inhalation and oral dosage forms and have installed state-of-the-art formulation equipment to support these activities. Adding to our drug substance and particle engineering capabilities this new plant expands our integrated offer and technological capabilities to provide the best service to our customers,' said Filipe Gaspar, Hovione’s Vice-President R&D.

Guy Villax, Hovione’s Chief Executive, added: 'With this investment we will be able to expand our offerings and provide our clients with new services. I am sure our customers will value the option of not having to ship the material that comes out of our reactors and spray dryers to outside the walls of our site and away from our trusted quality culture.

'This is also a great way to speed up the entire CMC development to meet the needs of the growing number of accelerated programmes that our clients ask us to deliver on.'