Hovione has entered a strategic partnership with Zerion Pharma to market and commercialize Dispersome, Zerion´s proprietary solubility enhancement technology platform.
 
Zerion´s Dispersome technology builds on a new concept of increasing drug solubility by using natural protein-based excipients to formulate APIs into amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) by spray drying. By combining Dispersome technology with Hovione’s unique spray drying capabilities, experience in development, scale-up and GMP manufacturing, Hovione further strengthens its leadership in amorphous solid dispersions and shows its commitment to innovative solutions to overcome the challenges of low drug solubility.
 
“We are extremely pleased to have entered into this partnership with Zerion whom we recognize as a very innovative company in the field of oral drug formulations. By joining forces, Zerion and Hovione will be able to bring Dispersome to the market faster. We look forward to applying the technology in collaboration with our customers and partners in our effort to develop novel drugs with strong benefits to patients,” comments Jean-Luc Herbeaux, Hovione´s chief operating officer. “Hovione will continue to pursue opportunities to enhance its offering around core areas of expertise such as particle engineering and inhalation by partnering with companies and research institutions developing innovative drug formulation technologies, like Dispersome.”
 
Zerion´s CEO, Ole Wiborg, sees a strong synergy in the partnership and expects it to generate new pharma partnerships.
 
“We consider Hovione the global leader in the field of producing amorphous solid dispersions by spray-drying. More importantly for us, this leadership has resulted in Hovione being, over the last 5 years, the main commercial manufacturer of novel FDA-approved drugs formulated as amorphous solid dispersions. Incorporating these competencies in our offering to the pharma industry both validates the strength of our Dispersome platform and provides us and our pharma partners immediate access to the highest quality in upscaling and commercial GMP manufacturing,” says Wiborg.
 
The announcement of this partnership follows Hovione’s communication on a further expansion with an expected investment of $170 million in assets worldwide. Hovione says it is investing both in new assets and innovative technologies to meet customer demand for integrated and differentiated services in drug substance manufacturing, particle engineering and most recently drug product manufacturing.