Hovione has signed an agreement with Dragonfly Technologies to gain access to its micellar technology for chemistry-in-water processes, developed by Professor Bruce Lipshutz of the University of California, Santa Barbara. The company said that it will develop the technology to become an integral part of its API manufacturing technology offering.
CDMO Hovione has acquired its Portuguese compatriot ExtremoChem, a chemical synthesis start-up focused on bio-inspired synthetic sugars. Terms were not disclosed.
ExtremoChem has developed a library of synthetic analogues of natural molecules found in extremophiles. These are said to have “shown potential in overcoming challenges associated with the stabilisation of biopharmaceuticals during production, purification, formulation and transportation”.
The board and shareholders of Hovione have named Dr Jean-Luc Herbeaux (right) as CEO from 1 April. He had originally joined the firm as COO in May 2020, after multiple leadership positions at Evonik, where he last headed the Health Care business line.
Portuguese CDMO Hovione, whose key technical specialities include spray drying and particle engineering, has concluded a strategic partnership under which it will market and commercialise Zerion’s solubility enhancement technology platform, Dispersome. Zerion was spun out from the University of Copenhagen in 2019, following a decade of research.
CDMO Hovione used CPhI Worldwide 2021 in Milan to announce plans to invest $170 million over the years 2020-2022 to expand both capacities and capabilities at three sites in Portugal, Ireland, and New Jersey. About 300 jobs will be created as a result. These reflect its increasing focus on spray drying, high potency and particle engineering.
Chemical companies continue to invest in hand sanitiser in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. A large number of them are now producing in significant volumes.
Ineos, the largest European producer of the two key raw materials - isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and ethanol – has announced its intention to produce 1 million bottles of hand sanitiser/month from each of three newly built facilities in the UK, Germany and France.
