Azelis Acquires Benelux Distributor Smoky Light
Specialty chemicals and food ingredients distributor Azelis has acquired 100% of Benelux smoke ingredients distributor Smoky Light.
News
German Merck Licenses Fusion Protein to PDS
Germany‘s Merck has granted an exclusive license for the tumor-targeting IL-12 fusion protein currently known as M9241 to PDS Biotechnology Corporation, a US-based clinical-stage immunotherapy company with a growing pipeline of targeted immunotherapies for cancer and infectious disease.
KBR Wins Indian VAM Project
US-based multinational contractor KBR and its Japanese acetyls technology partner Showa Denko have been selected by Asian Paints to provide services for a grassroots vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant in India.
Viatris Forms Eye Care Unit from Acquisitions
Viatris, formed in November 2020 from the merger of Mylan with Pfizer’s Upjohn division, has established an eye care division following the closure of two acquisitions on Jan. 3.
CEFIC Concerned by Revision of EU CLP Regulation
On December 19, 2022, the European Commission proposed a revised regulation on Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) of chemicals and introduced new hazard classes for endocrine disruptors, as well as for chemicals that do not break down in the environment and can accumulate in living organisms, or risk entering and spreading across the water cycle, including drinking water.
Moderna Buys Japan’s OriCiro Genomics
In its first acquisition since forming in 2010, mRNA specialist Moderna is buying Japan’s OriCiro Genomics for $85 million, expanding its therapeutics and vaccines portfolio.
Arkema Completes Divestment of Febex
Arkema has finalized the divestment of Febex, a company specialized in phosphorus-based chemistry, as a further step in what it calls its ”dynamic portfolio management strategy.” Buyer is Belgian group Prayon; the acquisition price was not disclosed.
ADNOC to Take a 24.9% Stake in OMV
In a deal announced shortly before Christmas that only attracted significant attention in the new year, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said it is acquiring a 24.9% stake in Austrian energy group OMV from Mubadala, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates.
Nouryon Closes ADOB Acquisition
Nouryon announced on Jan. 4 that it had closed its purchase of ADOB, a Poland-based supplier of chelated micronutrients, foliars and other specialty agricultural solutions.
Granules India and Greenko ZeroC Plan Green Pharma Zones
Granules India, a Hyderabad-based pharma company, is partnering compatriot clean energy company Greenko ZeroC to develop green zones for the sustainable manufacture of drugs and their intermediates.
Novartis to Pay $245 Million in ’Pay for Delay’ Settlement
Novartis has agreed to pay a total of $245 million to settle lawsuits filed by direct purchasers, indirect purchasers and retailers accusing it of colluding with Par Pharmaceutical to delay the launch of a generic version of its Exforge (valsartan/amlodipine) hypertension drug.
Brenntag and Univar Call off ’Engagement’
German distribution giant Brenntag is retreating from plans to acquire US rival Univar. The company said in an ad hoc statement that it is “no longer pursuing these discussions.”
Biden EPA Revives Waters of the United States
Just before the New Year, the administration of US president Joe Biden revived Waters of the United States, a section of former president Barack Obama’s Clean Air Act that had been deleted by Donald Trump in a move rejected by a federal court.
SABIC, OQ and Kuwait Petroleum Partner on Duqm Project
SABIC, OQ and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) have agreed to jointly develop a petrochemical complex in Duqm, Oman, reviving a project that stalled in late 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
ExxonMobil Starts up Advanced Recycling Plant
ExxonMobil has started up what it says is one of the largest advanced recycling facilities in North America at its integrated manufacturing complex in Baytown, Texas, where the company uses proprietary Exxtend technology to break down hard-to-recycle plastics and process them into chemical feedstock.
3M Announces Exit from PFAAS
US consumer products giant 3M has announced it will discontinue production and use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, (PFAS) across its products by the end of 2025.
Arkema Doubles Polyester Resin Output in India
Arkema has doubled capacity for its Reafree-branded powder polyester resins at its Navi Mumbai facility in India. The French chemical producer said the upgrade reinforces its leadership position in the global powder coatings market and its commitment to developing very low-VOC technologies.
New German Hydrogen Pipeline Network in Planning
German utility companies Gascade, Ontras and Terranets BW are planning to create a 1,100 km pipeline system with up to 20 GW capacity to transport renewable hydrogen across the country from north to south.
Topsoe Wins Ammonia, Methanol Contracts
Danish technology company Haldor Topsoe has been chosen by Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) to provide its Syncor autothermal reforming technology for a world-scale ammonia plant to be built in Louisiana, USA.
Jobs to Go at Novartis US Headquarters
As part of plans, announced in dribbles, to carve 8,000 jobs out of its global workforce to save $1 billion, Swiss drugs giant Novartis is eliminating 285 staff positions across its headquarters sites in the US state of New Jersey.
Trinseo Closes German Styrene and PC Production
Trinseo has finally decided to stop producing styrene at its Böhlen site in Germany, saying the plant – producing about 300,000 t/y – is too small to be competitive on the global market with current high gas prices and new styrene capacity additions sealing the unit’s fate.
FDA Approves Omicron-targeted Children’s Vaccines
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for the updated Covid-19 vaccines of both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna in children aged six months to five years.
Brenntag Expands South American Facilities
Brenntag has opened a new facility in Zarate, Argentina, unifying its operations in Buenos Aires into a single site and expanding its capabilities to customers. The site comprises offices, warehouses, storage tanks, three tank truck unloading spaces, two drumming stations and a mixing and blending building.
Germany Opens Wilhelmshaven LNG Terminal
German chancellor Olaf Schoz officially opened the country’s second floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at Wilhemshaven on the North Sea on Dec. 16.
BioNTech to Set up Oncology Base in Taiwan
Germany’s BioNTech said it plans to accelerate and broaden the clinical development of its cancer immunotherapy pipeline in the Asia-Pacific region by expanding its clinical footprint to East Asia, specifically Taiwan.
Aramco and Sinopec Plan Projects in China, Saudi Arabia
Aramco and Sinopec have signed two separate agreements to develop petrochemical complexes in their home countries of Saudi Arabia and China.
German Chemicals Stagger under Energy Burden
The global chemical industry has seen its share of challenges, but the sector has traditionally mustered its considerable resources to manage them with a minimum of casualties. Crisis here, recession there, when all blows over, it‘s “business as usual.”
GSK and Wave Life Sciences Partner on Genetics
British pharma GSK has entered into a four-year collaboration with US clinical-stage genetic medicines company Wave Life Sciences to advance oligonucleotide therapeutics, including Wave’s preclinical RNA-editing program targeting alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), an inherited disorder that can cause lung and liver disease.
Synthomer Sells Laminates, Films and Fabrics to Surteco
UK chemicals company Synthomer is selling its laminates, films and coated fabrics businesses to Germany’s Surteco Group for $255 million. The sale is part of Synthomer’s realignment of its portfolio to focus on specialty chemicals.
Chinese Distributor Inks Paxlovid Deal with Pfizer
As Covid cases continue to explode across the country, China Meheco Group Co, an internationally active manufacturer and distributor of pharmaceuticals chemicals and biologicals as well as Chinese traditional medical products, has struck a deal with Pfizer to distribute the US pharma giant’s oral antiviral Paxlovid in the People’s Republic.
Clariant Expands Care Chemicals in China
Specialty chemicals producer Clariant said it will invest 80 million Swiss francs to increase output of existing products in the portfolio it manufactures at Daya Bay, Huizhou, China, as well as introducing new products there by the end of 2024.
Takeda Takes Nimbus Lakshmi for $4 Billion
Japanese pharma Takeda is acquiring Nimbus Lakshmi, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US clinical-stage drug discovery company Nimbus Therapeutics, and its tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor NDI-034858, which is undergoing trials for treating multiple autoimmune diseases, including psoriasis.
Sulzer Chemtech and VTT Finland Partner on PS Recycling
Swiss industrial engineering firm Sulzer Chemtech is collaborating with the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland to commercialize recycling solutions for polystyrene.
Pfizer to Invest $750 million in Michigan
Pfizer is planning to invest $750 million in its Kalamazoo County, Michigan, production site – one of its biggest – to increase output of injectables and vaccines, including the investigational mRNA flu shot currently in Phase 3 clinical trials.
Amgen Boosts Rare Diseases with Horizon Buy
Amgen has agreed to buy Horizon Therapeutics for $28.3 billion including debt, boosting its portfolio of drugs for rare autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and beating rivals Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson, as well as a fourth unnamed company.
