Olon Appoints Maurizio Sartorato as Vice President of Biotech Division
Maurizio Sartorato has joined international API supplier Olon as Vice President of the group's Biotech division. In his new role, he will be a member of Olon’s leadership team.
News
Martin Fischer to Become Chief Financial Officer of Fresenius Medical Care
Germany-headquartered healthcare company Fresenius Medical Care has appointed Martin Fischer as its new chief financial officer, effective Oct. 1, 2023.
Thermo Fisher Scientific to Buy CorEvitas
US scientific services supplier Thermo Fisher Scientific has agreed to acquire CorEvitas, a provider of registry data and analytic services, from Audax Private Equity for $912.5 million in cash. The transaction, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Teva Contemplates Selling $2 Billion Active Ingredients Division
Teva Pharmaceuticals considers selling its $2 billion active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) unit as part of its "Pivot to Growth" strategy.
Shell CEO Contemplates US Move Amidst UK Windfall Taxes
Shell CEO, Wael Sawan, contemplates another headquarters move amidst the introduction of windfall taxes in the UK. Questions about the state of production and energy costs are also of concern.
Thyssenkrupp Uhde Wins Contract for BASF’s Surfactant Plant in Thailand
The Thailand branch of German engineering contractor Thyssenkrupp Uhde has won a contract by BASF to provide engineering services and proprietary equipment supply for its new non-ionic surfactant (NIS) plant at its Zhanjiang Verbund Site Project in Guangdong Province, China.
Solenis Acquires Diversey for $4.6 Billion
Solenis, a specialty chemicals manufacturer for water-intensive industries, has completed its acquisition of Diversey, a hygiene and cleaning products provider, in an all-cash transaction valued at ~ $4.6 billion.
Deteriorating Business Landscape Casts a Shadow on Germany's Chemical Industry
A survey published by the Ifo economic institute indicates that the German chemical industry fell significantly in June.
LyondellBasell Acquires Mepol Group for Advanced Polymer Solutions
LyondellBasell, a global leader in polymer and polyolefin technologies, has successfully acquired Mepol Group, a manufacturer of high-performing recycled compounds based in Italy and Poland.
Avantium and SCGC Partner on CO2-based Polymers
Avantium, a technology provider in renewable chemistry, has agreed to partner with SCG Chemicals (SCGC), an integrated chemical player and innovator in Asia, to further develop CO2-based polymers and to scale-up to a pilot plant with an indicative annual capacity of 10 t.
BASF and Yara Clean Ammonia to Study US Project
BASF and Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA), a unit of Norwegian fertilizer producer Yara, have teamed up on a joint study to develop and build a world-scale low-carbon blue ammonia production facility with carbon capture in the US Gulf Coast region.
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's Lung Cancer Drug Shows Promise, Shares Fall
Results from AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s datopotamab deruxtecan clinical trials were released this week. The antibody drug, also known as Dato-DXd, was developed in partnership between the two companies and aims to help patients with the most common lung cancer live longer without worsening their condition when compared to standard treatments. However, the announcement fell short of expectations, leading to a decline in AstraZeneca's shares.
Abcam Attracts Interest from US Life Sciences Giants
Abcam, a biotech supplier, has garnered interest from major US life sciences companies Danaher and Agilent as it explores its potential sale. The company has also approached Germany’s Merck and attracted attention from large buyout firms, say sources of Bloomberg.
Novartis Divests Ophthalmology Assets to Bausch + Lomb for Up to $2.5 Billion
Novartis has signed an agreement to divest its 'front of eye' ophthalmology assets to Bausch + Lomb, a global eye health company. The transaction is valued at up to $2.5 billion, which marks a strategic move to focus on innovative medicines and growth opportunities.
CSPC Pharmaceutical and Pfizer to Launch Local Brand of Paxlovid in China
Chinese drugmaker CSPC Pharmaceutical announced on Jun. 28, 2023, that it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Pfizer to launch a local brand of the Covid-19 oral therapeutic treatment Paxlovid in China. The goal is to improve access to this treatment in China.
Solvay in $393 Million PFAS Deal with New Jersey
Belgian chemical major Solvay has reached a $393 million deal with the US state of New Jersey to remedy contamination from poly- and per-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) – also known as “forever chemicals – caused by its subsidiary Solvay Specialty Polymers.
Arkema Takes Majority Stake in PI Advanced Materials
French specialty chemicals company Arkema plans to acquire the 54% majority stake held by Glenwood Private Equity in South Korea-listed PI Advanced Materials (PIAM) for €728 million and fully consolidate the holding. The remaining 46% of equity will continue to be listed in South Korea.
Germany’s Merck Expanding Reagents in China
As part of an agreement with China’s Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area (NETDA), Germany’s Merck said it plans to spend €70 million to expand production capacity for highly-purified reagents at its site in the Chinese city of the same name, a major transportation hub in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Ineos Charters Two LNG Carriers for Shipping US Gas
Ineos Energy, one of the newer units in Jim Ratcliffe’s growing portfolio of chemicals and related holdings, has signed dual agreements with Japanese shipbuilder Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) for two very large LNG carriers it plans to use to transport US-produced liquefied natural gas to Germany.
EPA Ends Louisiana Environmental Justice Probe
Due to considerations likely to reflect objections not only from the chemical industry, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Justice have pulled a much-heralded campaign for environmental justice in the state of Louisiana.
Grupa Azoty Starts New PP Plant in Poland
Polish chemicals and plastics producer Grupa Azoty has started up what it says is the first new polypropylene plant to be built in Europe in 15 years, while also realizing one of the largest investments in the European chemical industry.
Covestro Seals first US Renewable Energy Pact
German engineering plastics producer Covestro has signed a 90 megawatt (MW) virtual power purchase agreement (vPPA) with Danish renewables producer Ørsted for its US site at Baytown, Texas.
Venture Global “on Track” to Be Germany’s Top LNG Supplier
Venture Global, a US-based exporter of LNG, which has just agreed two major supply deals with German customers, says it is on track to solidify its position as the country’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas.
Celanese and Mitsui Finalize Food Ingredients JV
US chemical group Celanese Corporation and Japanese chemical giant Mitsui & Co have signed a definitive agreement to form a food ingredients joint venture under the name Nutrinova.
Neste to Invest €111 Million in Plastics Recycling Upgrade
The board of Finnish refiner Neste has given the all-clear to invest €111 million in new facilities for upgrading liquefied plastics waste at the company’s headquarters site in Porvoo.
Six States Join FTC Lawsuit to Block Amgen-Horizon
Six US states – New York, California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Washington – have joined the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit to block Amgen's proposed nearly $28 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics.
3M to Pay $10.3 Billion for PFAS Claims Resolution
3M has agreed to pay $10.3 billion to resolve legal challenges brought against the company by US public water systems over its discharges of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into US waterways. The deal is subject to approval by a US federal court.
KBR Wins Feasibility Study for Green Refinery
US technology and engineering group KBR has won a contract from Southern Rock Energy Partners to perform a feasibility study for a green refinery in Cushing, Oklahoma, USA.
H.B. Fuller Completes Two Strategic Acquisitions
H.B. Fuller, which bills itself as the world’s largest pure-play adhesives provider, has announced the completion of two strategic acquisitions that it said will accelerate the transformation of the US company’s portfolio toward more highly specified applications and enhance diversification of its Construction Adhesives (CA) business.
Ultragenyx Opens Gene Therapy Manufacturing Plant
US biopharma Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has opened a gene therapy manufacturing facility in Bedford, Massachusetts, USA. The company said it is one of the first in the US with complete end-to-end gene therapy capabilities, from R&D through to therapeutic production at scale.
US Senators Seek Answers on Drug Shortages
In what is being billed as a bipartisan effort to address shortages along the US pharmaceutical supply chain, two senators — one Democrat, one Republican — have introduced legislation that calls for an investigation of the problems and development of a plan to reduce the country’s dependence on imported drugs.
Enzene Biosciences Plans Biopharma Campus in USA
Indian CDMO Enzene Biosciences — a subsidiary of Alkem Laboratories — is to build a biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant on the Princeton West Innovation Campus in Hopewell, New Jersey, USA.
Covestro Said to Reject ADNOC Buyout Offer
German engineering plastics producer Covestro has rejected an initial takeover proposal from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) as too low, the Bloomberg news agency reports, citing “people familiar with the matter.”
Lilly Boosts Immunology with Dice Buy
Major drugmaker Eli Lilly is to pay up to $2.4 billion to acquire Dice Therapeutics, a US biotech specializing in developing oral medicines to treat chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Röhm Seals Functional Forms Deal with SABIC
German PMMA specialist Röhm has signed a final agreement to acquire SABIC’s Functional form business, which makes high-end polycarbonate film and sheet.
