Portuguese pharmaceutical company Hovione expanded its manufacturing facility in East Windsor, New Jersey, US, to boost its global capacity by around 25%.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the project took place in June 2016, and the expanded facility, named 89 Twin Rivers, was opened in September 2026.
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The expansion increased the company’s active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing and commercial spray drying capacity and generated up to 80 jobs. It also added continuous drug product manufacturing capability to the site. The project was part of a $100m (€89.41m) investment cycle announced for the New Jersey campus.
In 2021, Hovione announced a $170m investment across its Portugal, Ireland and New Jersey facilities to support its growth plans. The investment aimed to add a new spray dryer at the New Jersey campus.
Hovione also plans to employ the world’s first ConsiGma® CDC Flex, a next-generation continuous tabletting line, at the 89 Twin Rivers facility in late 2027.
Details of the new pharmaceutical campus location and expansion
Hovione’s new pharmaceutical campus is located at 40 Lake Drive, East Windsor, New Jersey.
The expansion added a 31,000ft² (2,890m²) building next to the company’s existing 24,000ft² facility in East Windsor, transforming the Hovione campus into a state-of-the-art site.
Two commercial spray dryer units, designed specifically to handle potent APIs, were added to the site.
The expansion doubles the facility’s drug substance manufacturing capacity and enables Hovione to meet the demands of customers who prefer US-based manufacturing throughout their development and commercial cycles. It also strengthens the company’s integrated API-Particle Engineering-Drug Product offering in the region.
ConsiGma CDC Flex details
Estimated to cost $35m, Hovione’s ConsiGma CDC Flex project is expected to expand the company’s drug product capabilities and reinforce its integrated pharmaceutical development and manufacturing hub in the US.
Developed in partnership with GEA, the ConsiGma CDC Flex platform incorporates SimpleCT, a suite of automation and control tools with smart interfaces designed to support a single process from development through commercial supply. Once operational, the line will provide an integrated route from amorphous solid dispersion manufacturing using spray drying to commercial-scale tablet production.
The ConsiGma CDC Flex will operate in either continuous or batch mode across a throughput range of 1–200kg/h. Customers will be able to develop formulations using as little as 1.5kg of material, then use the same equipment to manufacture small clinical batches and large commercial batches.
The flexibility is enabled by a specialised design that allows effective switching among continuous blenders of different sizes. The line will also provide containment to one microgram/m³, supporting the manufacture of highly potent compounds.
Future expansions
Over the next five to ten years, the East Windsor site is slated for significant expansion. The company intends to utilise roughly 15 acres of neighbouring land to construct a new 125,000ft² production plant.
The upcoming facility will house expanded laboratory spaces and accommodate commercial-level spray drying alongside pharmaceutical drug product manufacturing.
Details of Hovione’s existing site in New Jersey
Hovione’s New Jersey facility began operations in 2002, offering process development and small-scale API manufacturing. The site was expanded with a new pilot plant that began operations in June 2017, featuring reactors up to 3,000l, a size-three pharmaceutical spray dryer, direct compression, wet granulation and dry granulation with continuous drug product manufacturing technology.
The site also features high-potency API handling, cryogenic, hot melt extrusion and milling technology capabilities. It is staffed with highly skilled and experienced process development and analytical development teams that assist the drug substance and particle engineering disciplines.
The facility provides an integrated offering from drug substance to drug product at a single location, using the latest technologies. The facility and quality control labs operate 24 hours a day, five days a week.
The site has been certified by the US Customs and Border Protection for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. It was awarded the Voluntary Protection Programme Star Award by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2007 and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Stewardship Award in June 2020.
Marketing commentary on Hovione
Founded in 1959, Hovione is an integrated contract development and manufacturing company with more than 60 years of experience.
Hovione operates more than 590m³ of manufacturing capacity, employing a total of 2,300 people and 300 scientists worldwide. The company currently operates four US Food and Drug Administration-inspected facilities in the US, China, Ireland and Portugal.
The company offers proprietary product development and licensing opportunities for drug products. It is a fully integrated supplier that provides services for drug substances, drug product intermediates and complex drug products. It provides specialised API products to generic pharmaceutical customers and is the only independent provider of a complete range of inhalation services.
