Press Room

Event

RDD Europe 2025

Start

Tuesday, May 06, 2025 - 09:00

End

Friday, May 09, 2025 - 18:00

Location: Estoril, Portugal

Booth Number: 23

Hovione is present at RDD 2025 in Portugal | Hovione

Hovione is exhibiting at RDD Europe, a conference that has earned a sustained reputation for impactful, actionable content covering all aspects of drug delivery to the lungs and nose. In-depth presentations and discussions on pioneering science are expected to attract an audience of 500 delegates.

Do not miss the chance to meet our experts at table #23 and attend our podium and poster presentations, and workshop sessions.

Hovione Podium Presentation – May 7

Title: β-Lactoglobulin - A Novel Excipient for Next Generation Spray-Dried Powder Formulations

Session: May 7th at 11:30AM

Location: Auditorium

Presenters: Paulo Lino. Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Senior scientist. Inhalation and Advanced Drug Delivery

Moderator: Paul Young, Ph.D., Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

Short description: This study explores the potential of β-lactoglobulin (BLG) isolated from bovine whey as a novel excipient in dry powder formulations for respiratory delivery. BLG formed dispersible and high-density composite particles via spray drying.
Key learning: Key findings include
- i) optimized spray drying conditions to obtain BLG particles with high fine particle fractions up to 90%;
- ii) demonstrated BLG compatibility with active pharmaceutical ingredients like fluticasone furoate and tobramycin;
- iii) stabilization of amorphous fluticasone;
- iv) high nasal deposition of BLG-based formulations
- v) pulmonary and systemic clearance in rats within 24 hours after being inhaled, with minimal immune responses and no observed toxicity.

Hovione Podium Presentation – May 9

Title: Leveraging Nasal Powders for Complex Therapeutics and Targeted Delivery

Session: May 9th at 11:00 AM

Location: Auditorium

Presenter: Patricia Henriques Ph.D. Scientist. R&D, Inhalation and Advanced Drug Delivery

Short description: This presentation explores the potential of nasal powder delivery as a platform for systemic and targeted administration of complex therapeutics. By leveraging advanced formulation strategies, we address key challenges in delivering poorly soluble small molecules and biopharmaceuticals. The talk will highlight particle engineering approaches for targeted delivery, integration with tailored delivery devices, and insights from the development pipeline, showcasing how these innovations converge to enable effective intranasal therapies.
Key learning: Understand how formulation for complex therapeutics influences the performance and clinical potential of effective nasal powder products. Explore how particle engineering and device strategies can be optimized to achieve targeted nasal delivery, enhancing patient compliance and therapeutic outcomes

Hovione Workshop – May 7

Title: Optimizing Biologics Powder Formulations: Achieving High Drug Load, Stability, and Efficient Inhalation

May 7th from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Sessions: 2:00-3:00; 3:15-4:15 and 4:30-5:30PM

Location: Level 0 Room D3

Presenters:

Luís Marques, Senior Scientist – R&D, Inhalation and Advanced Drug Delivery

Filipe Vultos. Ph.D. Senior Scientist II. R&D Analytical Department

Short description: Get to know Hovione´s integrated formulation-device solution for nasal powders development and learn how the early-stage in vitro screening may be predictive of the in vivo nasal powder performance.
Key learning: Interest in developing biologic drugs for inhalation delivery has surged in recent years, primarily due to the advantages of the inhalation route over the parenteral route, especially for respiratory diseases. The main challenge in developing biologic formulations is maintaining the integrity of the biologic during formulation, manufacturing, storage, and delivery to the patient. Dry powders are preferred for inhalation delivery because they offer greater convenience and stability compared to liquid formulations. However, temperature and shear stress during manufacturing can affect the integrity of biologics. This workshop explores key formulation strategies to overcome these challenges, aiming to achieve dry powder formulations for biologics that not only exhibit good stability but also improved aerosolization performance and high drug loads.

Hovione Posters

Poster P12 - Nasal Spotlight

Title: Characterization Study of Nasal Deposition Targeting the Central Nervous System

Authors: Cláudia Sofia de Pina e Costa. Ph.D. Analytical Scientist. Analytical Development
Key Learning: Highlight the impact of different formulation particle sizes and nasal casts geometries in the deposition within the nasal cavity of the nasal dry powder

Poster P1 - Bench to Bedside

Title: Distinct Baseline Phenotypical and Functional Properties of Macrophages Derived from Two Different Lots of THP-1 Monocytes for Screening the Effects of Inhalable Drugs

Authors: Alexandre Ribeiro. Ph.D. Principal Analytical Scientist. R&D. Hovione. Mykaella Mestre M.Sc. Ph.D. Candidate. R&D. Hovione & IST- University of Lisbon, Ibb
Key Learning: Show potential sources of variability in the use of macrophage-like cells derived from THP-1 monocyte as drug development tools. Proposes analyzing cellular properties related to inflammatory function and API uptake as quality standards for these cells

Poster P2 Bench to Bedside

Title: Advancing High-dosage DPI Formulations: Integrating Quality By Design For Optimized Performance

Authors: Rui Churro. Ph.D - R&D Manager, Inhalation and Advanced Drug Delivery
Key learning: This work successfully integrated advanced modeling and Quality by Design (QbD) principles to optimize dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulations, enhancing process efficiency and product consistency. The development of a leucine "fingerprint" model and empirical tools for composite DPI formulation streamlines development and de-risks scale-up, offering significant business value through reduced R&D timelines, improved product quality, and faster time-to-market for inhalation therapies

Poster P12 Aqueous Agenda

Title: Optimizing Inhalation of a Monoclonal Antibody: Transitioning from Nebulization to a Dry Powder Inhaler

Authors: Luís Marques, Senior Scientist – R&D Inhalation and Advanced Drug Delivery

Contact our experts today to learn how the Hovione team ensures that your inhalation and nasal therapies are engineered for success from start to finish.

Let’s discuss your project together. Schedule a meeting today.

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A mechanical engineering graduate, this Frenchman is the CEO of the Portuguese pharmaceutical contract manufacturer Hovione. Still owned by the founding family, the company was awarded the 2025 ‘Léonardo de Vinci’ Prize, which recognizes the innovative and successful succession planning of family businesses. With an international career behind him, Jean-Luc Herbeaux is almost more fluent in English than in his native language. At 58, this Frenchman with iceberg-blue eyes is the CEO of Hovione. Founded in the late 1950s, this Portuguese group, with 100% family ownership, has just received the ‘Léonardo de Vinci’ Prize, which highlights entrepreneurial successes tinged with family legacy. While this mid-sized company with a turnover of €500 million maintains a low profile, its pharmaceutical contract manufacturing business is just as obscure to the general public. "Yet, the market for contract manufacturers, or 'contract development manufacturing organizations,' is worth $200 billion", emphasizes the CEO, who has been working in this microcosm for two decades. 500 patents Aware of the stakes, he does not deny "the pharma industry's dependence on Indian and Chinese capabilities". "The fact remains that the trend is toward the regionalization of supply chains, with European manufacturers producing for the Old Continent, American manufacturers for their own market, and so on", he says. And to highlight the foresight of Diane and Ivan Villax, the founding couple, "who thought globally from the very beginning". As a result, the group, with its 500 patents, has factories in China, the United States, and Ireland, without neglecting its home territory. This is evident by the site currently under construction on the banks of the Tagus River, following a €200 million investment. "The heavy engineering and compliance aspects are being finalized, "he explains, emphasizing that this highly regulated sector "is under a microscope". He knows this all too well, as Hovione claims to be involved in 5 to 10% of the drugs approved each year by the FDA, the American drug regulatory agency. Professor from Houston to Japan “In this small world, having a good image is important: this is the case with Jean-Luc, passionate about his work, but who knows how to demystify things”, observes Elie Vannier, former chairman of the board of Hovione. He adds that having an international profile is a strength “in this ecosystem where talent and clients are international”. For his part, Jean-Luc retains from his numerous flights “a taste for films of all genres and from all countries”. The son of an administrative employee in secondary schools and an auto insurance expert, the youngest of three children moved around according to his parents' job transfers. He was born in Meaux, grew up in Chartres, and attended the University of Technology of Compiègne, “which already offered programs abroad”. Thus, he left a mechanical engineering internship at a Dior perfume factory to join the University of Houston in Texas, "carrying a 20 kg backpack". Despite his then-limited command of English, he earned a doctorate, became a professor, and met an American woman who would become his wife and the mother of their two children. Next came the University of Kanazawa in Japan. Alas! Disappointed by the academic world, "where you have to fight to get resources", he succumbed to the allure of industry and joined the American chemical company Rohm and Haas, which had fallen under the control of the German company Evonik. 80 million patients He spent twenty years there, in Germany and Singapore, before "accepting the offers from headhunters". He then accepted Hovione's offer, who appointed him Chief Operating Officer in 2020, then CEO two years later, making him the first CEO not from the founding family. The family remains the sole shareholder, which earned the company the ‘Léonardo de Vinci’ Prize, created by the Association Les Hénokiens and the Clos Lucé. Having settled near Lisbon, he substituted walking for combat sports, "having been burned by the injuries of some friends". He also mentioned that Hovione, whose clients include 19 of the world's 20 largest pharmaceutical companies, helps treat more than 80 million patients. (Translated version) Read the original and full article in French on LesEchos.fr

Article

Les Echos, 2 December 2025

Jean-Luc Herbeaux aims to boost the growth of the pharmaceutical group Hovione

Dec 02, 2025

The CDMO’s New Jersey manufacturing site expansion will eventually cover more than 200,000 square feet. Portugal-based contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Hovione has completed an initial $100 million investment round in its East Windsor, New Jersey site. Once completed it will increase the facility’s footprint to more than 200,000 square feet and more than double its capacity for spray drying. Hovione CEO Jean-Luc Herbeaux said: “Since launching our New Jersey operations in 2002, Hovione has been one of the longest established European CDMOs in the United States. “This investment reinforces Hovione’s leadership in spray drying – a core technology platform where we have built extensive know-how and capabilities. By continuing to advance our platforms and expand capacity in the US, we are strengthening the foundation that enables our partners to bring complex medicines to patients more efficiently.” Spray drying is an increasingly important particle engineering technology for improving drug bioavailability through the amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) that can address bioavailability or crystallisation challenges. The initial phase of Hovione’s expansion will include a 31,000-square-foot building to house two size-3 spray dryers (PSD-3) designed for ASD production. Construction at the New Jersey site is already underway and the company plans to start GMP operations in the second quarter of 2026. The initiative is part of Hovione’s long-term strategy to grow its US operations and enhance its integrated drug substance, drug product intermediate and drug product capabilities. Herbeaux said: “This investment addresses growing customer demand for US-based capacity and integrated solutions that shorten development timelines and reduce tech transfer complexity. By consolidating development, scale-up, and commercial manufacturing within a single quality and governance framework, we provide customers with seamless execution from drug substance to drug product.” The company’s New Jersey expansion fits into its wider international growth plan that also includes capacity investments in Ireland and Portugal as it seeks to create a network of autonomous sites spanning the development and commercialisation of APIs, drug product intermediates and drug products. Read the full article at EuropeanPharmaceuticalReview.com

Press Clipping

European Pharmaceutical Review, 4 November 2025

Hovione doubles spray drying capacity with $100m US investment round

Nov 04, 2025

US-base manufacturing and the continued rise of peptides were among the key themes for CDMOs at CPHI Frankfurt 2025. Andrew Warmington reports. Hovione announced during this show that it has completed an initial $100 million investment phase in the expansion of its manufacturing footprint in East Windsor, New Jersey. The company was one of the first European CDMOs to set up in the US back in 2002. CEO Jean-Luc Herbeaux said that when he took over the role four years ago, Hovione's footprint in the US was limited and the site was reaching capacity limitations. (...) Read the full article on SpecChemOnline.com

Article

Speciality Chemicals, Nov./Dec. 2025