Arkema plans a two-and-a-half-fold increase of its organic peroxide production capacities at the Changshu site in China. This investment of around €50 million, the company said, will enable it to support its Asian customers in fast-growing markets, particularly in renewable energies.
Wacker Chemie started the construction of several new production lines to expand its specialty silicone manufacturing capacities at the Zhangjiagang site in Jiangsu Province, China. At the site, which is one of Wacker’s largest fully integrated production sites, the globally operating chemical group will produce functional silicone fluids, silicone emulsions and silicone elastomer gels. Investments of some €150 million are planned for the expansion project, Wacker said.
Portugal's oil company Galp has taken the final investment decision on two large scale projects to reduce the carbon footprint of the Sines refinery and of its products.
Indian drugmaker Glenmark Pharma has agreed to sell 75% of the shares in its subsidiary Glenmark Life Sciences (GLS) to detergent manufacturer Nirma for 56.515 million Indian rupees (about €639.000).
Bioeconomy startup Traceless Materials, which produces a natural biomaterial as an alternative to plastic, announces the completion of a €36.6 million funding round. The Series A financing round is led by UB Forest Industry Green Growth Fund.
US contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Veranova has appointed William Sanders as global vice president of chemical development operations, effective Sep. 18, 2023.
Novo Holdings, controlling shareholder in drugmaker Novo Nordisk, and healthcare investment firm Gurnet Point closed their acquisition of US antibiotics specialist Paratek Pharmaceuticals in a transaction valued at $462 million. Novo Holdings said that this is its largest individual investment in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) therapies to date.
Novartis today confirmed the plan to spin off 100% of its generic drugs arm Sandoz, with trading of the new company’s shares as well as ADRs (American Depositary Receipts) to start on Oct. 4, 2023.
Ineos Enterprises has announced the acquisition of Eramet Titanium & Iron (ETI) from Eramet for €230 million ($245 million). The deal was completed on Sept. 21 and takes immediate effect, following the satisfaction of regulatory approvals.
Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma plans to build an aseptic drug products facility in County Kerry, Ireland, creating an estimated 350 engineering, science, technology and other jobs. Construction is expected to begin next year and be completed in 2028. Astellas expects the investment costs to amount to €330 million.
Dow has started operations of its new MDI distillation and prepolymers facility at its US manufacturing site in Freeport, Texas.
US multinational energy company ExxonMobil has started up two new chemical production units at its Baytown, Texas, manufacturing facility. The $2 billion expansion is part of the company’s long-term growth plans for its US Gulf Coast refining and chemical facilities.
Belgian chemical major Solvay and China-headquartered Shanghai Shengjian Environment Technology, a company specializing on semiconductor process waste gas treatment, signed a strategic partnership framework agreement to strengthen their business relations and expand into new markets.
In Ireland, US drugmaker MSD has opened its new facility in Dunboyne, County Meath, and has expanded its Carlow site. MSD says it has invested more than €1 billion at both sites, creating 670 new jobs and increasing the number of employees in Ireland to 3,100. 100 of the newly created positions remain to be filled.
PPG has completed an expansion of its powder coatings plant in Sumaré, Brazil. The $2.7 million project increased the production capacity of the facility by 40%. The unit is expected to reach full capacity this month.
US vaccine maker Moderna and German biotechnology company Immatics agreed on a broad multi-platform research and development collaboration for novel cancer therapies, combining Immatics’ TCR platform with Moderna’s mRNA technology. The project spans various therapeutic modalities including bispecifics, cell therapy and cancer vaccines.
The Covid pandemic and its repercussions have changed the pharmaceutical industry and the healthcare markets. Richard Stedman, the CEO of ACG Engineering, discusses the lessons learned from the global supply chain disruptions and how innovative equipment helps pharma manufacturers overcome the challenges.
Sanner, a German contract manufacturing and development organization (CDMO), is expanding its production capacity in the Asia-Pacific region with the opening of a second manufacturing facility in Kunshan, China.
Singapore-headquartered shipping company MOL Chemical Tankers has agreed to acquire the business of Fairfield Chemical Carriers, a subsidiary of Fairfield-Maxwell, in an all-cash transaction for about $400 million.
North American contract manufacturer Jubilant HollisterStier has appointed Ian Fuller as its new vice president of Operations.
Specialty chemicals and food ingredients distributor Azelis has appointed Evy Hellinckx as CEO of Azelis EMEA, effective Jan. 1, 2024. She succeeds Anna Bertona, who will take on her new role as Azelis Group CEO at the beginning of next year.
Brenntag started operations of its new personal care Innovation & Application Center in Lille, France.
In this interview, Christene Smith sits down with Anne Lamp, the CEO & Co-Founder of Traceless Materials, to delve into the groundbreaking world of natural biopolymer materials.
In response to the urgent need for sustainable solutions in the surfactants industry, companies like Locus Ingredients are developing environmentally friendly biosurfactants.
In the dynamic realm of the chemical industry, surfactants serve as indispensable components with versatile applications, particularly in the home and personal care sector.
Interview with Alban Chesneau and Nicolas Castet, Carbon Waters
The biopharmaceutical industry is experiencing a drive towards biologic products due to their promise as treatments for chronic diseases.
The Egypt-based start-up Plastale produces composite materials for different applications out of local plastic and crop waste. Their recycling process aims to be energy and cost efficient, and the start-up focuses also on creating social impact through collaboration with local communities and local waste collectors. For this reason, International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3) features Plastale as the ISC3 Start-up of the Month for September 2023.
US specialty ingredients and chemicals distributor Univar Solutions has acquired Canadian company FloChem and certain of its affiliates, giving Univar access to new market segments and new service capabilities. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
LyondellBasell plans to permanently close one of its two polypropylene (PP) plants at Brindisi, Italy, due to increasingly difficult market conditions and a poor outlook. The company has not disclosed which plant is affected, nor has it provided a timeline for the planned closure.
With the inauguration of a new research building in the Shanghai Technology Park, Solvay has completed the expansion of its China Research & Innovation Center (R&I). The company said that it has invested more than 4 billion RMB (approximately €500 million) in its Chinese R&I hub since 2005.
CDMO CordenPharma, a specialist in active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), excipients, drug products and packaging services, inaugurated an increased commercial peptide production capacity with newly-upgraded facilities at its Colorado site in the US, which the company says is the world's largest solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) manufacturing facility.
Last week, Lonza and Vertex Pharmaceuticals broke ground on a new US facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to manufacture cell therapies for diabetes.
Australian lithium miner Liontown announced that it has received a revised conditional and non-binding indicative proposal from Albemarle to acquire all of the ordinary shares outstanding in Liontown for A$3.00 in cash per share via scheme of arrangement. The revised proposal values Liontown at A$6.6 billion ($4.3 billion) on an equity value basis.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants to clear the takeover of Irish biotech company Horizon Therapeutics by pharmaceutical group Amgen. Following concessions by Amgen, the authority is dropping its earlier objections to the $27.8 billion purchase, the FTC announced last Friday.
