The Discourse on Green Chemistry Interactive Pitch Competition, held on November 5, 2024, at Wiley's Berlin office as part of Berlin Science Week, showcased a range of innovative projects aimed at addressing critical environmental challenges.
SABIC recently announced the official launch of its new US$170 (€157.7) million ultem resin manufacturing facility in Singapore, marking the company’s first advanced specialty chemical manufacturing facility in the region producing the high-performance thermoplastic, ultem resin.
US specialty chemicals company Solenis has acquired BASF’s flocculants business for mining applications. With this strategic acquisition, Solenis enhances its portfolio for mining and mineral processing customers. The transaction, for which financial details were not disclosed, was first announced in July.
Belgium-headquartered pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Ardena announced plans to expand its bioanalytical services in the Netherlands. As part of the investment, the company plans to establish a new bioanalytical laboratory at its Pivot Park facility in Oss, as well as additional capacity and new GLP capabilities at its bioanalytical center of excellence in Assen.
Germany’s Secarna Pharmaceuticals has appointed Konstantin Petropoulos as CEO. He is stepping up from his previous role as the company’s chief business officer (CBO) and succeeds Alexander Gebauer, who is stepping down with immediate effect to focus his efforts on another company, Galimedix Therapeutics, that he has co-founded and is leading.
Finnish chemicals company Kemira announced plans to consolidate some of its pulp & paper chemical production in North America, resulting in the closure of a manufacturing site in Vancouver, Canada. The Vancouver site produces process and functional chemicals for the pulp & paper segment.
Sterling Pharma Solutions, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), today announced the second phase of an expansion strategy at its Deeside, UK site to support antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) development, with a more than £10 million (€11.9 million) investment to increase GMP bioconjugation capacity.
The female-led Swedish start-up Renasens has developed a clean, waterless recycling technology that transforms textile waste into valuable new resources.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) agreed to acquire a clinical-stage drug from Chimagen Biosciences, a privately held Chinese biotechnology company. CMG1A46 is a dual CD19 and CD20-targeted T cell-engager (TCE), which GSK plans to develop and commercialize with a focus on B cell-driven autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis (LN), with potential to expand into related autoimmune diseases.
US drugmaker AbbVie has signed an agreement to acquire biotechnology company Aliada Therapeutics, which develops therapies for central nervous system (CNS) diseases using a novel blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing technology to address challenging central nervous system (CNS) diseases.
Today, CEPSA announced its name change to Moeve, marking a historic milestone in the company’s transformation. This change positions Moeve as a leader in the European energy transition and demonstrates the significant progress achieved under its 2030 Positive Motion strategy, reinforcing its full commitment to sustainable energy and mobility.
British pharma company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plans to invest up to $800 million to expand drug substance and drug product manufacturing capabilities at the company’s US site in Marietta, Pennsylvania. The investment, which GSK said is its largest ever in US manufacturing, is expected to create more than 200 new jobs.
Ineos Styrolution, a supplier of styrenics materials, recently confirmed it will not restart its styrene monomer production site in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, which has been shut down since April 2024.
Italian energy group Eni has finalized its transformation and relaunch plan for Versalis, its chemicals business. As part of the plan, Eni will invest about €2 billion to reduce emissions by approximately 1 million t of CO2, currently about 40% of Versalis' emissions in Italy.
In a move to further increase production efficiency and modernize the site, German contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Rentschler Biopharma plans to construct a new buffer media station at its company headquarters in Laupheim. According to Rentschler, this is the largest single investment in the German site.
With sustainability and carbon reduction high on the global agenda, industries are under increasing pressure to meet decarbonization targets in line with the Paris Agreement. To support companies in the chemical sector in meeting this challenge, Together for Sustainability (TfS), a global sustainability initiative representing more than 50 major chemical companies, has announced the launch of its Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Exchange solution.
Swiss contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Lonza has announced a long-term extension of its collaboration with a key global biopharmaceutical partner for the manufacture of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) at commercial scale. The name of the partner was not disclosed.
Dutch renewables specialist Avantium has officially opened its FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) flagship plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. Plans for what was said to be the world's first commercial-scale production plant for FDCA were first announced in December 2021.
In a move to promote innovation and sustainability in the materials industry, Syensqo has entered into a partnership with the Jean-Marie Lehn Foundation.
LyondellBasell (LYB) has completed its acquisition of APK in Merseburg, Germany. The company will be fully integrated and continue as part of LYB. The deal was first announced in August of this year.
US paints and coatings group PPG has reached a definitive agreement to sell 100% of its architectural coatings business in the US and Canada to investor American Industrial Partners (AIP) for $550 million.
Sanofi has entered into talks with Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), a US-based investment company, about the potential sale of a 50% controlling stake in the French drugmaker‘s consumer healthcare business, Opella.
Today, Cambrex announced its stability storage business, Q1 Scientific, and opened a new cGMP facility in Durham, North Carolina, expanding its capacity for environmentally controlled stability storage services to North America's pharmaceutical, medical device, and life sciences industries.
Danish drugmaker Lundbeck has announced to acquire US company Longboard Pharmaceuticals in a deal valued at approximately $2.6 billion. Longboard, headquartered in La Jolla, California, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel medicines for neurological diseases.
Röhm Strives for Global Technology Leadership as a Methacrylate Specialist.
Solvay has inaugurated its regenerative thermal oxidation (RTO) process at its US plant at Green River, Wyoming. The innovative emissions control technology, which Solvay claims is the first of its kind in the trona mining industry, is expected to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the plant by up to 20% annually and achieve a 4% reduction in emissions at group level by 2025.
Mestag Therapeutics, a Cambridge, UK-headquartered biotech company working on new insights into fibroblast-immune interactions, has signed a license and collaboration agreement with US drugmaker Merck & Co., known as MSD outside of North America, to identify novel targets for the development of therapies against inflammatory diseases.
Sudarshan Chemical Industries Limited (SCIL) recently announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with the Germany-based Heubach Group, on its acquisition in a combination of an asset and share deal. Sudarshan aims to expand its global presence and pigment portfolio across 19 sites to provide customers with a top-tier product range.
In a move to progress its strategic priorities of accelerating organic growth, Honeywell announced that it plans to spin off its Advanced Materials business into an independent, US publicly traded company. The spin-off, which is expected to be tax-free to its shareholders, is likely to be completed by the end of next year or early 2026, subject to certain customary conditions.
OneSource Specialty Pharma, a newly incorporated CDMO, formed from the merger of three CDMO businesses within the Strides Group. The company has a 30-year track record and specializes in biologics, drug-device combinations, and soft gelatin capsules.
Rio Tinto announced that it will acquire Arcadium Lithium in an all-cash transaction for $5.85 per share that values Arcadium’s at approximately $6.7 billion.
US contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Piramal Pharma Solutions (PPS), part of India-headquartered Piramal Pharma, plans to invest $80 million for the expansion of its Lexington, Kentucky, facility.
Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) recently announced a $4.5 billion (€4.07 billion) investment to create the Lilly Medicine Foundry, a new center for advanced manufacturing and drug development.
South Korean contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) SK Pharmteco announced a major expansion of its small molecule and peptide production capabilities with a $260 million investment to construct a new facility in Sejong, South Korea.
A.P. Moller Holding, the mother company of shipping giant Maersk, has launched Vioneo, a manufacturer of fossil-free plastic resins and intends to establish its first production complex in Antwerp, Belgium. The plant, in which Vioneo plans to invest €1,5 billion, will benefit from the region’s expertise in the chemicals industry, strong export facilities and access to renewable energy, the company said.
