Press Room

Event

ECA Conference: Spray Drying - Solutions for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Start

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

End

Thursday, September 26, 2024

Location: Lisbon, Portugal

The ECA Conference in Spray Drying takes place in Lisbon, Portugal, September 24-26. Register today

Spray drying is presently one of the most exciting technologies for the pharmaceutical industry, being an ideal process where the end-product must comply with precise quality standards regarding particle size distribution, residual moisture/solvent content, bulk density and morphology.

At Hovione, we are proud to be part of this innovative field and are excited to join leading individuals from industry, academia and regulatory agencies at the ECA Conference on “Spray Drying - Solutions for the Pharmaceutical Industry”.

Register today

and take advantage of the unique opportunity to visit Hovione's cutting-edge labs and manufacturing facilities in Lisbon, Portugal

The objective of the conference is to offer a platform for exploring spray drying technology and processes. Attendees will see firsthand demonstrations of solutions for diverse requirements and benefit from a site visit to gain hands-on experience in Spray Drying.

Speakers

Dr. Sune Klint Andersen, Janssen Pharmaceutica
Dr. Jean-René Authelin, Sanofi
Dr. Rainer Nicolai, F. Hoffmann La-Roche
Simon Phillips, Nova Laboratories
Dr. João Pires, Hovione
Dr. Thomas Quinten, Janssen Pharmaceutica
Dr. Inês Ramos, Hovione
Dr. Harald Stahl, GEA

Join the conference's sessions led by our experts

"Amorphous solid dispersions by Spray drying from a formulation perspective"

Inês Ramos, Ph.D., R&D Manager, Formulation, Oral Drug Product Development

Description: The manufacturing of Amorphous solid dispersions (ASD) has become an established and commercially demonstrated strategy to improve the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. ASD formulation typically requires the definition of multiple factors that can amount to extensive lab experimentation, hindering fast-to-market. This lecture will provide an overview of how to design a Successful Formulation for Amorphous Solid Dispersions Produced by Spray Drying, using a streamlined approach and a proprietary technology to expedites the screening phase with minimal API requirements. An overview of Hovione’s methodology, the evaluation process, and the studies typically utilized, insights on alternative excipients, as well as key information needed to make a formal assessment of the best candidates will be provided resorting to case-studies.

"Scale-Up of a Spray Drying Process"

João Vicente, Ph.D., R&D Director, Corporate Technical Services

Description: A spray drying process will be subjected to multiple scale-up steps throughout the product’s life-cycle, thus requiring a robust process understanding to control the products properties. The scope of this talk is to describe the knowledge and risk based methodology that guides the stages from the process design up to qualification and commercial phase of a spray drying manufacturing process. The lecture will focus on predictive tools used to support process/product development and scale-up activities.

"Tailoring Spray Drying Processes for Biopharmaceutical and Respiratory Formulations"

João Pires, PhD., R&D Senior Manager, Process Development, Inhalation and Advanced Drug Delivery

Description: This presentation is dedicated to exploring the primary requirements and potential challenges inherent in applications of spray drying with highly particular specifications such as biopharmaceutical and respiratory formulations. The discussion will delve into the intricacies of accommodating these specifications and de-risking the process during its evolution from laboratory-scale up to commercial manufacturing. By focusing on these nuances, the aim is to provide insights into optimizing the spray drying process for various pharmaceutical contexts, with a keen emphasis on achieving overall product quality with the shortest risk and time-to-market.

Key learnings:

Requirements & challenges when applying spray drying for biopharmaceutical and respiratory products
Adaptation of specifications and de-risking of the process during its development from laboratory scale to commercial production
Optimisation of the spray drying process for assuring product quality, minimize risk and assure shortest time to market


Inês Ramos, Ph.D. Manager R&D Oral Drug Product - Formulation Group	João Vicente, Ph.D. Director R&D Corporate Technical Services	João Pires, Ph.D. Senior Manager R&D Process Development, Inhalation and Advanced Drug Delivery

More about the Conference, Speakers and Programme

More about the Site Visit:

As part of the conference, registered participants will have a unique opportunity to visit Hovione's cutting-edge labs and manufacturing facilities in Lisbon, where research, development, and manufacturing activities take place.

In the labs you will gain access to Particle Engineering facilities, explore some of the most advanced analytical PAT tools, and get a close look at the specialized equipment used in spray drying development. You will also have the chance to observe analytical and process development operations, guided by Hovione experts.

During the visit to the manufacturing facilities, you will witness a state-of-the-art facility in action, showcasing a commercial spray drying unit.

Please note that availability for this exclusive site visit is limited, so securing your spot early is highly recommended to ensure you don't miss out on this opportunity to experience Pharmaceutical innovation at Hovione.

We provide bus transfer from the conference hotel to the Hovione sites. After the site visit there will be transfers to the airport and back to the conference hotel
Due to competition reasons, individual participants may be excluded from the site visit
Participants are required to sign a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA) before entering Hovione sites

More about the ECA Academy:

The ECA Academy is the educational organisation established by the ECA Foundation. It develops and organises a wealth of international education courses, conferences (also as part of a GMP Certification Programme) and webinars around GMP and regulatory compliance, picking up emerging GMP challenges and currently discussed subjects. While courses and webinars are designed to provide continuous education for GMP professionals in production, quality control, quality assurance etc, European conferences are organised as discussion forums on new trends and developments.

If you have any questions about the Conference:

Tel.: +49 (0)6221 / 84 44 0

www.gmp-compliance.org

The Leader in Spray Drying

With the largest number of commercial projects, the best science and engineering, the largest capacity, and the most experienced team, Hovione can take your project from development to market like no one else.

Learn more on how to overcome your solubility issues with the best scale-up science.

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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

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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

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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

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Speciality Chemicals, Nov./Dec. 2025