Pharmaceutical CDMO Hovione has opened a new 31,000-square-foot facility at its East Windsor campus, doubling the company’s US spray-drying capacity as it steps up investment in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing.

 

The new 89 Twin Rivers facility adds two GMP-ready, commercial-scale PSD-3 spray dryers to Hovione’s New Jersey operations. The expansion completes the company’s current $100 million U.S. investment cycle and is expected to create about 80 jobs.

 

Hovione said the facility strengthens its integrated US platform, connecting formulation development, spray drying and drug product manufacturing under the campus’s existing FDA registration and harmonized quality system.

 

The company is targeting a major challenge in drug development: poor aqueous solubility. Hovione says approximately 70% of small-molecule drug candidates exhibit poor aqueous solubility, which can restrict bioavailability and slow development.

 

Its spray-drying technology converts poorly soluble drug ingredients into more bioavailable amorphous solid dispersions. Hovione brings more than 25 years of specialized spray-drying experience to the operation, spanning formulation science, predictive and model-based development, scale-up and drug product manufacturing.

 

“Opening 89 Twin Rivers is more than a capacity expansion. It marks the next chapter in Hovione’s legacy of more than two decades in the U.S.,” said Marco Gil and Antonio Almeida, Co-Chief Executive Officers of Hovione. 

 

“This investment enables us to meet growing demand while further reinforcing our global leadership in pharmaceutical spray drying. Equally important, this technology sits within an integrated offering that extends from drug substance through drug product, giving customers a more direct and resilient path from early development to commercial. This is how we help them address poor solubility, one of the industry’s most persistent development challenges, and bring complex medicines to patients faster.”

 

The East Windsor expansion is only the latest step in Hovione’s US growth strategy.

 

Over the next five to 10 years, the company plans to develop roughly 15 acres of adjacent property into a 125,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. The planned site will include additional laboratories, commercial-scale spray drying and drug product manufacturing.

 

Hovione said customers will also have the opportunity to co-invest in the planned expansion, potentially gaining priority access to its proprietary platforms, engineering expertise and capital deployment.

 

“89 Twin Rivers is a major step forward for Hovione’s U.S. operations and a clear expression of our long-term commitment to East Windsor and New Jersey,” said David Basile, Vice President of Technical Operations, Americas, at Hovione. 

 

“Our growth has been built on sustained investment in scientific expertise, technological innovation, advanced manufacturing capabilities, and talented people. As we look to the future, we will continue to strengthen this site as an innovation hub for pharmaceutical development and manufacturing, contributing to the competitiveness of New Jersey’s life sciences ecosystem and to a stronger US manufacturing base.”