Bayer Plans to Scale Back Women’s Health R&D
Ahead of a change in leadership at the top after the upcoming annual general meeting, in interviews with news agencies Bayer is dropping hints in dribbles about future plans for its healthcare business.
News
Aramco and DHL Plan Saudi Logistics Hub
Saudi Aramco and DHL Supply Chain have signed an agreement to set up a new procurement and logistics hub in Saudi Arabia. The facility would be the first in the region to cater to customers in the industrial, energy, chemical and petrochemical sectors.
Cinven to Buy MBCC Admixture Assets from Sika
Private equity investor Cinven is acquiring MBCC Group’s admixture business from Swiss construction chemicals major Sika on the rebound. Earlier, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had turned thumbs down on plans to sell the business to Ineos, citing antitrust concerns.
J&J Fights to Save Lawsuit-dodging Runoff Company
After failing yet again this week to overturn a judgment rejecting its plans to roll into a separate company more than 38,000 lawsuits claiming that its talc-based baby powder causes cancer, US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson said it intends to file for a stay of the opinion and take its case to the Supreme Court.
Mycotex Develops Innovative Production Process for Personalized Clothing Made from Mycelium
With an innovative new production process, the Dutch start-up Mycotex allows for personalized clothing made from mycelium. With this contribution to sustainable chemistry the start-up aims to create a completely new supply chain for the fashion industry, an alternative to weaving, cutting and sewing.
Manufacturing Partially Saturated Free Fatty Acids with Evonik Catalysts
In oleochemical production, partially saturated free fatty acids are an important alternative raw material to their fully saturated counterparts. Their manufacture can present unique challenges and opportunities. Evonik’s MONCAT catalysts provide the solution.
EPA Cranks up PFAS Regulation Plans
After years of little or no movement on regulation of per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), Europe and the US, separately, are now preparing legislation to contain them.
Flamma Invests $200 Million to Expand CDMO Capabilities
Italian CDMO Flamma Group intends to invest $200 million over the next three years to expand its capabilities to meet growing market demand.
Brenntag Buys Singapore’s Aik Moh Group
Brenntag has agreed to acquire Aik Moh Group, headquartered in Singapore and covering Southeast Asian markets for industrial chemicals. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
LyondellBasell Signs Long-term Solar Purchase Deals
Chemical producer LyondellBasell has signed five 15-year solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Spanish renewable energy producer Grenergy. The purchases cover the supply of energy from the La Cereal solar farm project in Spain, which is expected to be operational at the end of 2025.
Baxter Said to Eye Sale of Biopharma CMO Arm
Plans by US healthcare company Baxter International to shed its biopharma contract business as it streamlines operations after a poor 2022 earnings performance are gradually taking concrete shape.
Sangamo Reviews Options as Drugmakers Terminate Deals
US biotech Sangamo Therapeutics is studying alternative options to advance its neurological disease programs after both Novartis and Biogen ended their respective collaborations. The California-based company said options could include potentially developing the programs internally, or with another partner.
Well Prepared for the Future with Supply Chain Assessment
Interview with Klaus-Peter Jung, Partner at the Miebach Consulting Group
Strategic Planning in Transport Management
Implementing the capability for tactical and strategic planning enables companies to build a smoother and more resilient supply chain.
A New Take on Logistics Procurement
In light of strained supply chains, logistics is increasingly becoming a competitive factor for the chemical industry.
Resilience Is the Strategy for Success in Volatile Markets
For its annual report "Value Creation in Chemicals 2022 – Building Resilience as the Crisis Unfolds," the strategy consultancy Boston Consulting Group examined the performance of leading international chemical companies between 2017 and 2021. The results show that the chemical industry, even in difficult times, has outperformed other sectors.
Saipem and Garbo in Chemical Recycling Collaboration
Italian companies Saipem and Garbo have agreed to collaborate to commercialize the latter’s proprietary depolymerization technology, called ChemPET. The process converts waste PET into high-quality, high-value PET that can be reused in the chemical and food industries.
Aramco and Linde Link on Ammonia Cracking
Saudi Aramco and Linde Engineering have agreed to jointly develop new ammonia cracking technology and plan to build a demonstration plant in northern Germany.
Global Pharma Reduces Marketing Staff in India
As part of what seems to be a general pattern of staff reductions in the pharmaceutical industry worldwide, a growing number of Western drugmakers are downsizing their sales and marketing presence in India.
Containment Solutions for HPAPI Manufacturing
Clear incentive for drug manufacturers to equip their production facilities with the capacity to process highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs). HPAPIs now account for 25% of all drugs produced globally, with some analysts projecting that it will reach a value of $40 billion by 2027.
Sanofi in Lockstep with US Insulin Price Cuts
The world's largest insulin producers, Eli Lilly, NovoNordisk and Sanofi are now marching (almost) in lockstep to reduce US market prices, but not without tossing sideward barbs at the system.
Stahl Closes ICP Industrial Solutions Buy
Dutch coatings technology specialist Stahl has completed the acquisition of ICP Industrial Solutions Group (ISG). The major producer of high-performance coatings for packaging and labeling applications is a division of Innovative Chemical Products (ICP).
Albaugh Acquires Corteva’s Glyphosate Business
US agrochemicals company Albaugh has acquired DuPont spinoff Corteva Agriscience’s straight-goods glyphosate business for an undisclosed sum. The deal is for intangible assets only, such as trade names, registrations, regulatory data, formulations, patents and know-how used worldwide, excluding Argentina.
Delivering Quality with Speed for European Market
In this interview, Jinling Chen, head of WuXi STA’s drug product business, and Jamie Andrews, site head of WuXi STA’s Couvet facility, explain the company’s strategy and the goals of the European expansion.
Going Inland
Historically, China’s chemical industry has mainly been located in coastal provinces, with Shandong as the biggest and Jiangsu as the second biggest province by chemical sales, while the coastal regions of Hebei, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Liaoning and Guangdong are also among the top ten producers of chemicals.
Chemicals M&A Review 2022 and Outlook 2023
2021 was historic for chemical M&As, it was a record-breaking year in terms of total value of deals. Therefore, it was expected that 2022 would only build upon this. However, the combination of high interest rates, supply chain bottlenecks and geopolitical instability saw both the number and value of deals take a significant hit throughout 2022.
Oqema expands its business through the acquisition of Stera Chemicals
Oqema has announced its acquisition of Stera Chemicals, one of the largest distributors of chemical raw materials in Romania.
The Materials Revolution
Companies in the materials industry – including chemical companies – are seeing a revolution that is likely to drive a new wave of growth. To succeed, however, they will need to rethink their value chains, expand manufacturing in the region, and take advantage of digitally powered approaches to innovation.
Sandoz Builds Biologics Plant in Slovenia
Sandoz, the generics and biosimilars arm of Swiss drugmaker Novartis, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build a biologics production plant in Lendava, Slovenia.
Lummus Wins Kazakhstan Butadiene Contracts
Lummus Technology has received a contract to supply multiple technologies to Butadiene LLP for a new petrochemical complex in Atyrau, Kazakhstan.
EU Commission Opens Basket of “Green” Plans
Ahead of a summit of EU leaders on Mar. 23-24, the European Commission has shaken out a cornucopia of proposals to stimulate green investment in the 27-member bloc.
Novo Nordisk to Cut US Insulin prices from 2024
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has added its name to the list of insulin producers cutting prices for US retail buyers, following up on Eli Lilly’s announcement of price cuts and in response to growing pressure from the White House.
Bayer to Spend $1 Billion on US Drug R&D
Bayer is looking to spend $1 billion on drug research and development in the United States during 2023 as part of a plan to double its sales in the country by the end of the decade.
Apollo Takes Univar for $8.1 Billion
Private equity group Apollo has agreed to acquire Univar Solutions for $8.1 billion. The transaction also includes a “minority” investment from a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Supply Chain Due Diligence Act
On Jan. 1, 2023, the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (“LkSG”) came into force in Germany.
