Hovione has completed expansion of the company’s tablet development and manufacturing centre at its main global campus in Loures, Portugal adding 25% more commercial-scale batch tableting capacity for the integrated supply of oral solid dosage products.
Hovione
The recently inaugurated expansion completes an investment cycle of more than €40 million.
Hovione expanded its batch tableting capacity by adding an additional line mirroring the original unit across every local operation: dispensing, blending, dry granulation, and tableting and film coating. The mirrored configuration reinforces capacity at the 300 to 400 kg batch scale and provides both redundancy and like-for-like product transfers between lines, reducing the process risk that typically accompanies the move from development into commercial supply. Supporting areas, including in-process control and staging space sized to the increased production capacity were also added as part of the expansion.
The added capacity strengthens Hovione’s ability to manufacture ASDs by spray drying and tablet them into finished oral dosage forms at a single site. Executing both steps within one quality system compresses development timelines and simplifies supply chains for customers who would otherwise transfer intermediates between sites and/or suppliers. Demand for the single-site service continues to grow as ASD by spray drying remains a vital solution for poor solubility that slows development timelines for over 70% of new molecular entities.
“This investment completes our existing capabilities in Portugal and strengthens the competitiveness of our operations. It gives us greater scale and flexibility to respond to the needs of an industry that is seeking to develop new medicines more quickly and build more resilient supply chains closer to its markets. This is an important step in continuing to support our customers internationally,” said António Almeida and Marco Gil, Co-CEOs of Hovione.
In 2022, Hovione invested in a next-generation continuous tablet manufacturing line at the same industrial complex. As pharmaceutical companies increasingly evaluate continuous manufacturing alongside established batch processes, Hovione has continued to invest in resilient manufacturing infrastructure that supports both current customer needs and future demand.
“Mirroring the line rather than simply adding equipment was a deliberate choice,” said Jorge Pastilha, VP of technical operations for Europe and Asia at Hovione. “It means a product validated on one line can move to the other without reformulation or process redevelopment, which gives customers continuity of supply.”
The investment created 50 skilled jobs in production, engineering, quality, science and technology at the Hovione Sete Casas facility in Loures, which employs approximately 1,250 people and supplies customers that include 19 of the world’s 20 largest pharmaceutical companies. The expansion also increases Hovione’s export capacity and further establishes Portugal as a hub for the development and manufacture of medicines for patients worldwide.