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.
News
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.
Clariant Books Impairment Charge on Sunliquid Plant
Specialty chemicals producer Clariant is taking an impairment charge of around 225 million Swiss francs on its sun-liquid branded bioethanol plant that started up at Podari, Romania, in the second quarter.
French Farmer Wins €11,000 in Bayer Herbicide Lawsuit
A French farmer who said he suffered neurological problems including memory loss, fainting and headaches after inhaling fumes from Bayer’s Lasso-branded herbicide in an agricultural accident, has won compensation of €11,135, ending more than 15 years of litigation.
Novozymes and Chr. Hansen to Merge
Danish companies Novozymes and Chr. Hansen have agreed to merge, in a move they termed a perfect match that will create a global leader in biosolutions.
Catalent Opens Cell Therapy Facility in Belgium
Catalent has opened a new commercial-scale cell therapy manufacturing facility at its European center of excellence for cell therapies in Gosselies, Belgium.
Behavior Based Safety
Every chemical company has safety rules, analysis tools, dashboards and a keen awareness of safety processes.
BP Studies Hydrogen Hub in Egypt
BP has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Egyptian Government under which the multinational energy giant will explore the potential for establishing a green hydrogen production plant in the country.
Saudi’s Dussur Buys into Italmatch Chemicals
Dussur, the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company, has agreed to buy a stake in Italian specialty additives manufacturer Italmatch Chemicals from private equity group Bain Capital. The Riyadh-based group will also invest €100 million in Italmatch as a capital increase.
CEFIC Chemicals Trends Report November 2022
Following months of deteriorations, the latest global manufacturing flash PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) reading has, for the first time since mid-2020, crossed the threshold of 50. This signals a contraction in manufacturing, CEFIC says in their Chemicals Trends Report (CTR) for November 2022.
Air Products and AES Plan US Mega-Scale Hydrogen Plant
Industrial gases company Air Products and utility group AES have announced plans to invest $4 billion in a mega-scale hydrogen plant, powered by wind and solar energy. The companies said the facility, which will be capable of producing more than 200 t/d, will be the largest green hydrogen plant in the US when it starts up in 2027.
Plastics Industry Slams new US Legislative Proposal
US chemicals and plastics producers have expectedly slammed a new legislative initiative called Protecting Communities from Plastics Act (PCPA) introduced by Democratic Party senators and representatives in both houses of Congress at the beginning of December.
Germany’s Merck Buys Erbi Biosystems
Germany’s Merck has acquired Erbi Biosystems, a developer of the 2 ml micro-bioreactor platform technology known as the Breez. Financial terms were not disclosed. The company is based in the US state of Massachusetts.
Röhm to Acquire SABIC’s PC Sheet and Film Business
PMMA specialist Röhm plans to acquire SABIC’s polycarbonate-based Functional Forms business in a deal due to close in H1 2024. The company said the buy is key to its strategy to advance its transparent semi-finished products business into a leading multi-polymer global player.
CropEnergies Proceeds with German Ethyl Acetate Plant
Germany’s CropEnergies has given the go-ahead for its proposed 50,000 t/y renewable ethyl acetate plant to be built at the Zeitz Chemical and Industrial Park in Elseraue. Total investment will be between €120-130 million, with startup scheduled by summer 2025.
Nouryon Buys Singapore Alkoxylation Plant
Nouryon has bought an alkoxylation plant in Singapore. The company said the plant on Jurong Island will enhance its ability to serve growing regional demand in key end-markets, such as agriculture and food, home and personal care, natural resources, and paints and coatings.
Pfizer Files Rebuttal of Moderna’s Patent Claim
Faced with a lawsuit from US rival Moderna, alleging that Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech infringed one of its patent for their top-selling Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty, the New York US drugs giant said in a court filing that Comirnaty was based on independent research and wasn’t a Moderna copy.
Ineos and Sinopec Agree Fourth Venture in China
Ineos has agreed a fourth joint venture with Sinopec that will see it take a 50% share in the Tianjin Nangang project, which is currently underway and due to go on stream at the end of 2023.
Borealis Invests in Solar Power for Austria
Olefins and polyolefins producer Borealis has joined forces with Austrian energy utility company Verbund to supply solar energy to its production site at Schwechat, Austria.
AstraZeneca Sells US Site to National Resilience
Two weeks after annnouncing that it would no longer seek to market its Covid-19 vaccine in the US, Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca has unveiled plans to sell its production site at West Chester, Ohio, to privately-held biomanufacturing company National Resilience.
