BASF has announced it will close two herbicide plants by 2022 as it seeks to strengthen its competitive position. The facilities are located in Knapsack, Germany, where the company currently operates three plants, and Muskegon, Michigan, USA. The closures will affect about 100 workers.
Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma has agreed to buy US bioelectronics startup Iota Biosciences. The move follows their R&D agreement signed in August 2019, under which the two firms worked together on activities associated with Iota’s ultrasonic-powered bioelectronic devices, also known as neural dust, in a number of indications.
Lummus Technology and US plastic waste company New Hope Technologies have agreed to cooperate on the marketing and further development of thermal pyrolysis technology.
Germany’s Merck KGaA has agreed to collaborate with Mammoth Biosciences on development, scale-up and commercial production of the US biotech’s CRISPR-based SARS CoV-2 diagnostic test. Mammoth recently secured funding from the US National Institute of Health’s RADx program to scale its CRISPR-based testing workflow.
French contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Minakem has won the 2020 Pierre Potier prize for its continuous flow process to produce a bio-sourced solvent that repurposes plant waste – notably corn stalk or sugar cane residue.
In its biggest pharma acquisition since the 2006 takeover of Berlin-based women’s specialist Schering, Bayer plans to plunk down up to $4 billion for US biotech firm Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio). Under the agreed terms, Bayer will pay $2 billion upfront and up to $2 billion more, contingent on certain success milestones.
Brenntag has announced plans to cut its workforce by approximately 1,300 and close about 100 sites across all regions as it implements its transformation program – named Project Brenntag – to increase focus, reduce complexity and strengthen its leading global market position.
ICL is to acquire specialty plant nutrition company Fertiláqua from Brazilian private equity firm Aqua Capital for about $120 million. The deal boosts ICL’s specialty plant nutrition product portfolio and significantly enhances its presence in Brazil, one of the world’s fastest growing agriculture markets.
Engineering contractor TechnipFMC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with McPhy, a US-based manufacturer and supplier of green hydrogen production and distribution equipment, to work together on technology development and project implementation.
AstraZeneca’s paused Phase 3 US clinical trial with its Covid-19 adenovirus vaccine candidate could resume as early as this week, sources have told both Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. The drugmaker initially paused all global trials in early September, after a participant in the UK Phase 3 test suffered a spinal inflammatory disorder. The purported diagnosis of transverse myelitis was never officially confirmed.
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has agreed to plead guilty to three criminal charges in federal court in New Jersey for its part in fueling an opioid crisis in the US. The company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019, paid doctors to write more opioid prescriptions “without a legitimate medical purpose.”
The California Supreme Court has declined to hear Bayer’s appeal of the first jury verdict against it in a series of cases brought by US plaintiffs charging that Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide causes cancer.
US resins producer AOC has agreed with Czech company Spolchemie and its second largest shareholder Kaprain Investment Group to buy the unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) manufacturing operations at Usti nad Labem.
Leading global distributor of life science ingredients Barentz has expanded its activities in the Asian life science markets with the acquisition of Singapore-headquartered Nardev, a distributor specialized in the personal care market. Financial details were not disclosed.
Alex Azar, US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), is rumored to be plotting for the Trump administration to oust FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn in retaliation for the health agency’s issuing its own guidance for approving a Covd-19 vaccine independently of the White House.
US specialty chemicals company PQ Group has agreed to sell its Performance Materials business to middle-market private equity firm The Jordan Company (TJC) for $650 million. The sale is expected to close by the end of 2020, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.
Swiss pharma Roche has agreed to collaborate with US biotech Dyno Therapeutics to develop adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for gene therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disease and liver-directed therapies.
German industrial gases and engineering group Linde has entered into an exclusive collaboration with Shell on ethane-oxidative dehydrogenation (E-ODH) technology for producing ethylene. The catalytic process is an alternative route to ethane steam cracking.
Finnish forest industry group UPM has started construction of a bio-based monoethylene glycol/monopropylene glycol (MEG/MPG) plant in Leuna, Germany, marking a “major milestone in its strategic transformation.”
Saudi Aramco and SABIC are re-evaluating the scope of their proposed crude oil-to-chemicals (COTC) complex in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.
Dutch paints and coatings group AkzoNobel has agreed to buy the decorative paints business of Spain’s Industrias Titan for an undisclosed sum.
US medical research agency the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has paused a Phase 3 study on Eli Lilly’s Covid-19 antibody treatment on a potential safety concern.
Brenntag has agreed to buy Italian activated carbon company Comelt and its subsidiary Aquadepur for an undisclosed sum.
NGO Public Citizen has filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), seeking to force disclosure of the terms of contracts worth billions of dollar that have been awarded to drugmakers for Covid-19 vaccine development and manufacturing.
Dow and Johnson Matthey (JM) have won a second court case in China over infringement of their jointly owned LP Oxo technology for producing oxo-alcohols.
Saudi Aramco subisidiary Arlanxeo Canada has agreed to sell its olefins business to Diamond Petrochemicals Canada, a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp.
German chemical company Wacker Chemie is investing about $100 million to build two new manufacturing plants at its site in Nanjing, China.
Barentz, a Dutch distributor of life science ingredients, has agreed to acquire Maroon Group in the US for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which significantly extends Barentz’s footprint in North America, is expected to close by the end of this year.
Martin Brudermüller, CEO of BASF, has been elected president of the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) for a two-year term. In the rotating position, the 59-year-old German national, a native of Stuttgart, succeeds Daniele Ferrari, CEO of Versalis, who has held the position since October 2018.
The construction of a new production building of over 3,100 m2 on the company premises started in April 2020. The start of operations is planned for mid-2021.
US process licensor Lummus Technology has established a new business called Green Circle that will expand its capabilities and capture new opportunities in the energy transition and circular economy.
Johnson & Johnson has temporarily paused all clinical trials of its adenovirus-based vaccine candidates, including the recently begun US Phase 3 trial, due to safety concerns after a study participant suffered an unexplained illness. A two-dose regimen was being tested separately.
Spanish contract laboratory company Kymos has boosted its European presence with the takeover of Germany’s Prolytic. Financial details were not disclosed.
Dutch storage operator Vopak and Indonesian petrochemical group Chandra Asri are looking to collaborate on establishing new terminal facilities to help support Indonesia’s industrial infrastructure.
