Press Room

News / May 09, 2024

Hovione and iBET announce the creation of ViSync Technologies, an innovative new company that will develop solutions for unmet needs in cell and gene therapy

News release, 09 May 2024

News Release - ViSync NewCo
  • The new company, which will be located in Portugal, will focus on the development of drug delivery solutions for emerging drug modalities.
  • Cell and gene therapies represent a paradigm shift in modern medicine, offering unprecedented opportunities to address previously untreatable diseases.
  • ViSync solutions will help address some of the manufacturing challenges caused by the complex nature of new modalities, with special focus on stabilization, cell or tissue targeting and drug payload delivery. 

Lisbon, 9th May 2024 – The specialist integrated CDMO and leader in pharmaceutical spray drying and particle engineering, and iBET (Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica), a private not-for-profit research intensive SME in the area of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, today announced the creation of ViSync Technologies, a new joint venture located in Oeiras, close to Lisbon. The newly formed company will focus on developing innovative technologies and scalable solutions to help pharmaceutical companies address formulation and manufacturing challenges in transformative cell and gene therapies.

Hovione has a strong track record in industrializing new technologies and supporting Pharma Companies with their clinical and commercial volume manufacturing needs, while iBET has a strong biological background and a global reputation for its scientific knowledge of the new therapeutic modalities space, particularly cell and gene therapy. 

New modalities, such as gene and cell therapies, RNA drugs and other complex biologics, are a rapidly growing segment of the pharmaceutical industry. They promise to bring breakthroughs to the treatment of a wide range of diseases and conditions, including cancer, genetic disorders, rare diseases and neurological conditions. 

While this rapid growth has been driven by remarkable efficacy in addressing unmet clinical needs, the complex nature of the new modalities brings challenges, including limited drug administration options, immunogenic responses and off-target effects, issues with high dose delivery and high costs. The poor stability of these drugs is also an issue, resulting in the need for cold supply chains. ViSync will aim to develop novel technology platforms to address the unmet needs of pharmaceutical customers developing these transformative new products.

“The creation of ViSync in collaboration with iBET marks an exciting new chapter in Hovione´s commitment to innovation”, said Dr Jean-Luc Herbeaux, Hovione´s CEO. “New therapeutic modalities have the potential to bring radical improvements to current standards of care and we are thrilled to partner with iBET, a world-renowned expert organization in this area, to develop technology platforms that help customers bring transformative therapies to patients worldwide. The first step will be to assemble a team who possesses the knowledge, expertise, and ingenuity needed to navigate the complexities ahead."

“The establishment of ViSync in partnership with Hovione represents a pivotal moment in iBET’s dedication to pioneering research in advanced therapies,” stated Dr. Paula Alves, iBET’s CEO. “The immense promise of these new modalities is at our reach and we are delighted to join forces with Hovione, a globally recognized leader in technological industrialization and drug delivery. In this common endeavor, we will gather the scientific and technical competences and skills to support our clients and partners in delivering groundbreaking therapies to patients globally.”

ViSync will develop its own lab facility in Lisbon and expects to be able to start its research and development work by the end of 2024.

 

About Hovione

Hovione is an international company with over 60 years of experience in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing operations. As a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) it has a fully integrated offering of services for drug substances, drug product intermediates and drug products. The company has four FDA inspected sites in the USA, Portugal, Ireland and China and development laboratories in Lisbon, Portugal and New Jersey, USA. Hovione provides pharmaceutical customers services for the development and compliant manufacture of innovative drugs, including highly potent compounds, and customized product solutions across the entire drug life cycle. In the inhalation area, Hovione offers a complete range of services, from API, formulation development and manufacturing, capsule filling and devices.  
 
Hovione's culture is based on innovation, quality and dependability. Hovione is a member of Rx-360, EFCG and participates actively in industry quality improvement initiatives to lead new global industry standards.

 

About iBET

iBET is a private non-profit institution devoted to biotechnology research, with 35 years of experience creating and transferring knowledge to the global biopharma and biotech sectors. iBET’s core expertise lies on the development of bioprocessses and analytical tools for Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products (ATMPs), including cell and gene therapies, vaccines, antibodies and other innovative therapeutic products. Leveraged by the emerging areas of Data Science and Translational Immunology, we offer bespoke R&D services from early-stage R&D to GMP manufacturing. 

iBET’s infrastructure comprises cutting-edge laboratories, a GMP certified Analytical Services Unit, and a Late-Stage R&D and Bioproduction Unit, covering upstream and downstream process development, bioanalytical tools for critical quality attribute monitoring, to scale-up and tech transfer. iBET also hosts satellite laboratories of major pharmaceutical companies and serves as an incubation platform for start-up/spin-off companies.

iBET is driven by its innovative and agile culture of continuous improvement and a strong sense of ambition, ownership and commitment in developing and delivering the best solutions to our stakeholders.
 

Also in the Press Room

See All

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

Coming to America - Drug Product Focus

Nov 01, 2025

Also in Events

See All