Hovione attributed the revenue growth to the success of its customers operating in both the branded and generic pharmaceutical sectors, particularly in terms of the number of new drug approvals gained. The firm explained that this had seen an in increase in the demand for its API manufacturing and development services.
The Loures-headquartered company also said that the improvement was a result of considerable investment in manufacturing facilities at sites worldwide and in its production technologies, particularly those related to its particle design division.
Guy Villax, Hovione's CEO, explained that: "Despite the negative economic environment, we face 2008 with optimism. In 2005 we set a goal to be selling $150m by 2010 with all the sales increase driven by organic growth. I expect us to be ahead of target this coming year."
In December 2006, a study by Espicom Healthcare Intelligence (EHI) suggested that the Portuguese Pharmaceutical market revealed that the national drug market is worth around $5.3bn (€4.1bn) a year, at the time the tenth largest market in the region.
Hovione had not responded to in-PharmaTechnologist.com's questions at the time of going to press.
Chinese API acquisition
In December last year, Hovione became the latest in a spate of pharmaceutical industry players to invest further in China. The firm purchased 75 per cent of Hisyn Pharmaceutical for a price of $20m.
Hovione said the acquisition brought it "significant additional drug substance manufacturing production capacity". Along with the 180 staff employed at the site, the firm gained drug development laboratories in Shanghai and an API plant in the nearby city of Zheijiang. Prior to the deal, Hisyn had been supplying Hovione with intermediates for its production operations.
Hovione retains the right to acquire the remaining 25 per holding in Hisyn.
