Peter Boone to Succeed Hidde van der Wal as CEO of Barentz
Barentz has appointed Peter Boone as its new CEO, effective Oct. 1, 2023. He succeeds Hidde van der Wal, who is to retire after leading the company more than 20 years.
News
Danaher to Acquire Abcam for $5.7 Billion
US science and technology group Danaher has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Abcam, a supplier of life science research tools. Danaher will buy all of the outstanding shares of Abcam for $24.00 per share. The transaction, which is worth about $5.7 billion, is expected to close in mid-2024.
FEICA to Launch New Adhesives and Sealants Report
FEICA, the Association of the European Adhesive and Sealant Industry, will publish its latest study of the program “The European Adhesives and Sealants” on Sep. 14, 2023, at this year’s European Adhesive & Sealant Conference and Expo.
Lenzing Completes the Conversion and Upgrade of Its Indonesian Site
Austrian fibers producer Lenzing has completed technical improvements to its Purwakarta site in Indonesia. According to Lenzing, it has invested more than €100 million since 2021 to convert the location into a supplier of specialty viscose fibers.
Bayer to Build New R&D Facility at German Site in Monheim
Bayer’ Crop Science division plans to invest €220 million in a new research and development (R&D) facility at its Monheim, Germany site. This is the company’s largest single investment in its crop protection business in Germany since the founding of the Monheim campus in 1979, Bayer said.
Bakelite Acquires LRBG Chemicals
Bakelite Synthetics, the US manufacturer of phenolic resins and adhesives, acquires LRBG Chemicals, a Canadian manufacturer and developer of resins based in Longueuil, Quebec.
EuroAPI to Acquire German CDMO BianoGMP
Active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturer EuroAPI has agreed to acquire BianoGMP, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in oligonucleotides. Biano is to become a EuroAPI company but retain its corporate brand.
CVS Health Launches Biosimilars Subsidiary Cordavis
US drugstore chain CVS Health has launched Cordavis, a wholly owned subsidiary that will collaborate with manufacturers to commercialize and co-produce biosimilar products.
LG Chem to Spend $95 Million on Water Treatment Business
LG Chem, South Korea’s top chemicals manufacturer, plans to spend ₩124.6 billion (€86.9 million) to increase its water treatment material output capacity, aiming to double the business over the next 5 years.
Covestro Completes Construction of New Polyurethane Dispersions Site in Shanghai
Covestro has completed construction on a new production facility for polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) in Shanghai, China.
Rentschler in Collaboration to Improve AAV-Manufacturing for Gene Therapies
German CDMO Rentschler Biopharma is collaborating with the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult), an independent innovation and technology organization specializing in the advancement of cell and gene therapies, and Oxford-based mass photometry specialist Refeyn, to improve the manufacturing adeno-associated viruses (AAVs).
Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue Finalize Separation
Kenvue, the world’s largest pure-play consumer health company by revenue and maker of brands such as Band-Aid, Tylenol, Listerine or Neutrogena, eventually became a fully independent company following the final separation from Johnson & Johnson. A stock swap offer to exchange shares of Johnson & Johnson common stock for shares of Kenvue ended at the end of the day on Aug. 18, 2023.
Cellares Raises $255 Million for Cell Therapy Development Facility
Cellares, a US-based integrated development and manufacturing organization (IDMO), has secured $255 million in Series C funding to establish a cell therapy development facility in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
Cheniere and BASF Sign LNG Agreement
Cheniere Energy and BASF signed a long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale and purchase agreement (SPA).
DuPont to Divest Majority Stake in Delrin Business to TJC
DuPont has agreed to sell an 80.1% ownership interest in the Delrin acetal homopolymer (H-POM) business to private equity company TJC in a transaction valuing the business at $1.8 billion. The transaction is expected to close around year-end 2023, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.
Grupa Azoty Plans New Ammonium Nitrate Plant at Polish Fertilizer Site
Polish chemical company Grupa Azoty wants to build a new concentrated ammonium nitrate solution plant at its site in Tarnów, Poland. The company announced that it has signed a contract with Thyssenkrupp Uhde for the preparation of licensing documentation and the supply of all process equipment for the plant.
Victoria Brown Joins as SVP, Chief HR Officer at Veranova
Veranova announced the appointment of Victoria Brown as the company’s SVP, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) based in Devens, MA, US.
Ecovyst Appoints Colleen Grace Donofrio as Vice President – Environment and Sustainability
Ecovyst, a specialty catalyst and sulfuric acid recycling provider, announced today that Colleen Grace Donofrio has been appointed as its Vice President – Environment and Sustainability.
Thermo Fisher Completes Acquisition of CorEvitas
Thermo Fisher Scientific has completed the acquisition of CorEvitas, a provider of registry data and analytic services, from Audax Private Equity for $912.5 million in cash.
Gilead Partners with Tentarix on Cancer and Inflammation Therapies
Gilead Sciences and Tentarix Biotherapeutics established three multi-year collaborations using Tentarix’s proprietary Tentacles platform to discover and develop multi-functional, conditional protein therapeutics for oncology and inflammatory diseases.
Occidental to Acquire Carbon Engineering for $1.1 Billion
US oil and gas producer Occidental Petroleum has agreed to acquire Canadian climate solutions company Carbon Engineering for $1.1 billion, a developer of technology for large-scale direct air capture (DAC).
Astex and MSD Expand Drug Discovery Collaboration
UK-based Astex Pharmaceuticals, specialized in the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics for oncology and diseases of the central nervous system, announced an exclusive worldwide research collaboration and license agreement with US drugmaker MSD (in the US, the company trades as Merck & Co).
AGC Biologics Completes Expansion at Milan Site
AGC Biologics, a biopharma CDMO, has completed the expansion of its manufacturing capacity at the company’s Cell & Gene Center of Excellence in Milan, Italy.
Johnson & Johnson Receives Two Cancer Drug Approvals
The US FDA approved Akeega and Talvey late last week. Phase 3 trials validated Akeega's use in the treatment of patients with BRCA-positive prostate cancer. Talvey is authorized for patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma.
Brazil’s Braskem Q2 Earnings Down, Possible Divestment Needed
Braskem, a major Brazilian petrochemicals company, may be forced to sell some assets to deleverage if economic conditions worsen in coming months, says US credit rating agency S&P.
Novo Nordisk to Acquire Inversago Pharma
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has agreed to acquire Montreal, Canada-based Inversago Pharma. The transaction is worth up to $1.075 billion in cash if certain development and commercial milestones are achieved, the companies said in a statement.
Thyssenkrupp to Conduct a Feasibility Study for the Han-Ho H2 Hub Project
Thyssenkrupp Uhde has won a contract by Australian renewable energy company Ark Energy to carry out a feasibility study to support the development of the Han-Ho H2 Hub project. Ark Energy is leading the Han-Ho H2 Consortium involving three of Korea’s largest conglomerate groups including Hanwha Impact, Korea Zinc and SK Gas.
Inflation and Uncertainty in European Plastics Industry
The fallout from Russia's war with Ukraine is having a lasting impact on almost every market, including plastics in Europe, with inflation, low demand, and uncertainty. To gauge this uncertainty, PIE conducted its 10th Market Survey with almost 200 participants from across the European plastics industry.
Investor EQT Sells Schülke to a Consortium Led by Athos
Swedish venture capital firm EQT is selling pharmaceutical company Schülke & Mayr to a consortium led by Athos, the family office of Hexal founders and Biontech shareholders Andreas and Thomas Strüngmann.
Toray Advanced Materials Korea Considers Film Line Expansion
Toray Advanced Materials Korea is reviewing its film line expansion in South Korea as part of a capital expenditure plan for this year valued at ₩300 billion (€209 million). This is in contrast to other chemical companies that have stalled investments due to the current economic landscape.
Roche and Sysmex Expand Long-Term Alliance
Pharmaceutical group Roche and Japanese diagnostics company Sysmex are expanding and extending their existing long-standing partnership. Under the renewed terms of the non-inclusive agreement, Roche will continue to offer Sysmex's hematology products, which complement the company's laboratory solutions portfolio, they said in a statement yesterday.
Fluor Awarded Nearly €1 Billion in Life Science Contracts
Fluor has been awarded a €444 million ($487 million) biotech expansion project in Denmark and is in the first phase of a new life sciences production facility in the US valued at €523 million ($574 million). The two contracts will be recognized in the Q2 backlog.
Toyo Ink Invests in Biotech Company VLP Therapeutics
Japan-based specialty chemicals manufacturer Toyo Ink has signed an agreement to invest in US-based biotech company VLP Therapeutics (VLPT) and its subsidiary company VLP Therapeutics Japan (VLPT Japan). Financial details of the agreement were not revealed.
AkzoNobel Completes Acquisition of Sherwin-Williams’ Chinese Decorative Paints Business
AkzoNobel has completed the acquisition of Sherwin-Williams’ Chinese decorative paints business, including the widely known Chinese Huarun brand.
IMCD Acquires Puerto Rican Distributor Sachs Chemical
Rotterdam-based specialty chemicals distributor IMCD has agreed to acquire 100% of the shares of Sachs Chemical, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
