Hovione has provided an update on its ongoing expansion of manufacturing sites in Portugal, Ireland and the US, saying that it has already added significant capacity to the Portuguese and US facilities and has plans to add more in Portugal and Ireland over the next 5 years. According to the company, the expansion in facilities has also led to a 39% increase in staff.
In 2016, the company began expansion of its New Jersey facility, with plans to double development and manufacturing capacity, adding 30,600 sq ft and a new commercial spray drying unit. That expansion is complete, the company said.
Since 2016, Hovione has also completed an expansion of its manufacturing facility in Loures, Portugal, adding drug substance reaction vessels, a pilot spray dryer, and two large scale spray dryers. A new product product center for oral and inhaled drug manufacturing was also opened.
In addition, a new 7,000 sq m development center has opened in Lisbon, Portugal and now houses Hovione’s development services, including chemistry, particle engineering, formulation and analytical development areas. According to the company, 200 scientists have moved to that site.
A production building at the Cork, Ireland site undergoing renovations and will add 157 cu m of chemical synthesis capacity for contract manufacturing, with approximately half of that capacity coming on line by May 2018.
Future planned expansion includes a 4,200 sq m chemical synthesis and spray drying building that will be used for contract manufacturing at the Loures site, new formulation capacity, and a new 1,200 sq m analytical laboratory building. Completion of the new buildings is expected within the next 3 years.
Hovione VP Marketing & Sales Frédéric Kahn said, “This addition in capacity expansion will secure our growth and ensure that we continue to provide a truly integrated full-service solution to our customers, as well as showing Hovione’s strategy and commitment to further strengthen its global market leadership in spray drying.”
VP of Engineering Nuno Almeida added, “This capacity expansion plan is far more than a matter of production capacity solely. It aims to reorganize sites with new buildings, renew existing facilities and give operations the most advanced equipment in the market, to provide our customers and team members with the technology and the capacity they need to grow in a sustainable way. It is a significant effort and commitment from Hovione to stay ahead of and prepare for future demand.”
Read the Hovione press release.
