Capacity expansion helps Hovione to healthy sales increase
pharmafile | August 10, 2010 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â API, Hovione, packaging, pharma packagingÂ
Portuguese active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer Hovione has posted a healthy increase in sales for the fiscal year-ended March 31, 2010, up 15% to $144 million.
The financial gains have come despite stiff competition for European API manufacturers from rivals in Asia, and are an endorsement of Hovione’s decision to focus on specialist areas of production where the barriers for new competitors into the market are high.
A key factor behind the increase in sales is Hovione’s new API manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland, which it acquired from Pfizer in April 2009.
In addition to challenging specialist chemistries such as hydrogenation and low-temperature synthesis, the Cork plant includes a state-of-the-art aseptic spray drying (ASD) line.
ASD offers greater economy than other types of drying processes and has other advantages, such as the ability to co-process APIs with excipients, such as stabilisers and solubility enhancers, and improve the characteristics of the resulting powder.
“ASD capability is core to our strategy and Hovione is committed to remaining the global industry leader in spray drying,” said the company in a statement.
Meanwhile, the plant in Cork has doubled Hovione’s production capacity and “will enable [us] to capture new market opportunities”, according to the company’s chief executive Guy Villax.
Another key element in the company’s growth has been the expansion of production capacity at a plant in China dedicated to the manufacture of contrast agents, another technically challenging area in which Hovione has a leading position in the world market. The Hisyn plant makes generic contrast media such as iohexol and iopamidol.
“During the last five years Hovione has increased sales by 77% [and] has gone from three to five industrial plants,” commented Miguel Calado, Hovione’s chief financial officer.
“Despite the difficult economic environment, we remain confident that 2010 will be another year of solid growth,” he added.
Phil Taylor
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