China’s Quest for Self-sufficiency in Chemicals
One of China’s key objectives of the current 14th Five-Year Plan is to reduce the dependency on imports. At least partly, this is a reaction to rising political tensions with the USA.
News
02.05.2022 • News
Wuxi ATU Collaborates with Singapore’s BTI
WuXi Advanced Therapies (Wuxi ATU), US-based CDMO offshoot of WuXi AppTec, is joining up with Singapore’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) to advance cell and gene therapy production in the Asia Pacific region.
02.05.2022 • News
Bayer AGM Sees Discussion on Multiple Fronts
Like those of other chemical industry players, shareholders attending Bayer’s virtual annual general meeting on Apr. 29 had a full agenda to deal with, though their list was undoubtedly one of the longest. Along with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they discussed potential plans to split pharma and crop science, the timetable for finally ending Roundup litigation and the size of executives’ bonuses.
29.04.2022 • News
Shell is First Signee for Rotterdam Hydrogen Pipeline
Shell is the first company to sign an agreement to use the HyTransPort hydrogen pipeline in the Netherlands that will run for 32km from Maasvlakte in the Port of Rotterdam to Pernis. Gasunie is laying the pipeline in collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
29.04.2022 • News
Total Writes down $4 Billion on Russian Assets
French petrochemicals, plastics and energy group TotalEnergies has taken a $4.1 billion writedown on its flagship Russian gas exploration project and is seen to have softened its position on exiting the country despite earlier statements that it could not pull out.
28.04.2022 • News
Johnson Matthey Partners to Enhance Electrolyzer Efficiency
Johnson Matthey and Schaeffler, a leading supplier to the automotive and industrial industries, are working with Bekaert, a provider of porous transport layers for proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, and research institute TNO to bring a step-change in the efficiency of electroyzers used to produce hydrogen.
28.04.2022 • News
BASF Will Largely Quit Russia and Belarus
“In light of the war of aggression against Ukraine ordered by the Russian government,” BASF announced has on Apr. 27 that it has decided to wind down all of its remaining business activities in Russia and Belarus at the beginning of July.
28.04.2022 • News
Clariant Concludes Accounting Probe, Names new CFO
Swiss specialty chemicals producer Clariant has wrapped up an internal investigation into accounting irregularities in its 2020 financial results, unveiled minor adjustments to that year’s originally stated figures and published preliminary earnings figures for 2021, which it had held back pending completion of the probe.
27.04.2022 • News
Masdar Plans Egyptian Green Hydrogen Plants
Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy group Masdar and Egypt’s Hassan Allam Utilities have signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with leading Egyptian state-based organizations to develop green hydrogen production plans in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and on the Mediterranean coast.
27.04.2022 • News
Bachem and Lilly Partner on Oligonucleotide APIs
Bachem, a Swiss specialist in the development manufacture and manufacture of peptides and oligonucleotides, has entered into a strategic collaboration with major drugmaker Eli Lilly.
27.04.2022 • News
Sanofi Teams up with McLaren Racing
Sanofi has joined forces with McLaren Racing in a move it hopes will accelerate its manufacturing efficiency and performance drive. As the French drugmaker’s CEO Paul Hudson put it, “we want to run our lines with the speed, precision and efficiency of a Formula One racing team.”
26.04.2022 • News
Asahi Kasei Medical Buys Bionova Scientific
Asahi Kasei Medical, through a US subsidiary, has agreed to buy biologics CDMO Bionova Scientific for an undisclosed sum. Located in Fremont, California, Bionova provides process development services to biopharmaceutical companies, especially those developing next-generation antibody-based drugs.
26.04.2022 • News
New Moderna Covid Shot may Trigger Stronger Response
An updated version of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine is claimed to produce a stronger immune response against major variants of the coronavirus, including omicron and delta, compared to the shot currently administered.
26.04.2022 • News
Distrupol Acquires Finnish Rival Baritec
UK thermoplastics and elastomers distributor Distrupol has acquired Finnish competitor Baritec for an undisclosed sum. The company said the acquisition, expected to be completed by the end of April, will strengthen its presence in the Baltic States and Finland.
25.04.2022 • News
GSK Union Threatens Strike over “unacceptable” Pay Offer
British drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline is facing what could be the first industrial action in its history. Some 86% of its employees organized in the trade union Unite at manufacturing sites across the UK voted last week to go on strike, rejecting a pay increase of 4%.
25.04.2022 • News
Milliken Expands German Plastics Modifiers Capacity
US specialty chemical company Milliken is expanding the facilities it acquired last March when it took over Germany’s Zebra-chem. Located in Bad Bentheim, Zebra-chem is a specialty compounder and chemicals company that makes additive and blowing agent concentrates for polyolefins, PVC and engineering thermoplastics.
25.04.2022 • News
Charles River Acquires Explora BioLabs
Charles River Laboratories, a US specialist provider of laboratory, gene and cell therapy services, has acquired Explora BioLabs for approximately $295 million in cash.
22.04.2022 • News
Regeneron Boosts Oncology Pipeline with Checkmate Buy
US biotech Regeneron is buying compatriot clinical-stage biopharma Checkmate Pharmaceuticals for a total equity value of about $250 million. The acquisition, expected to close in mid-2022, will boost Regeneron’s portfolio of diverse and combinable immuno-oncology candidates.
22.04.2022 • News
Catalent to Invest $350 Million at Bloomington HQ
Catalent has announced it will spend $350 million over several years to expand biologics drug substance and drug product manufacturing capabilities at its Bloomington, Indiana, USA, headquarters. Ultimately, the additions are expected to add more than 1,000 new jobs to the site’s workforce.
22.04.2022 • News
LyondellBasell to Quit Refining by 2023
LyondellBasell (LYB) is finally calling it quits on the refinery business and has announced plans to close its Houston facility “no later than December 31, 2023.” The plant in the Houston Ship Channel has a rated capacity to transform 268,000 barrels per day of crude oil into transportation fuels and other products including lubricants, chemical intermediates and petroleum coke.
21.04.2022 • News
DSM Sells Protective Materials to Avient
DSM has agreed to sell its protective materials business, which primarily includes its Dyneema fiber brand, to US specialty polymer materials maker Avient for an enterprise value of $1.485 billion. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, follows DSM’s strategic review of the business last September.
21.04.2022 • News
Clariant and Technip Energies in Sunliquid Alliance
Swiss chemicals company Clariant has entered into a cooperation agreement for its Sunliquid cellulosic ethanol technology with Technip Energies. The technology converts agricultural residues, woody materials or municipal solid wastes into cellulosic sugars, which are then fermented into cellulosic ethanol.
21.04.2022 • News
Henkel Seals Russian Exit Plans
Henkel has now decided to pull out of Russia, due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The German consumer chemicals producer said, however, it would keep paying its 2,500 employees there until the exit is complete.
20.04.2022 • News
EPA Investigating Louisiana Plant Permits
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a closer look at permits issued for chemical plants by the state of Louisiana’s environment department (LDEQ) over several years in an effort to determine whether they violated anti-pollution standards and disadvantaged Black people residing downwind.
20.04.2022 • News
Lygos and Flexible Solutions to Merge
North American biochemical companies Lygos and Flexible Solutions International (FSI) have agreed to merge in an all-stock transaction. The move follows a strategic investment made by FSI in Lygos in February 2021.
20.04.2022 • News
Bayer Executives Secure Investor AGM Support
Bayer CEO Werner Baumann will receive some needed support from two major shareholder groups at the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM) but he is not out of the woods yet.
Ramping Up Biomanufacturing Capacity
Biomanufacturing for both traditional biologics and new modalities, such as cell and gene therapies, continues to be an active area of investment for CDMOs/CMOS. Some of the major investments by the larger CMDOs/CMOs are outlined in this article.
19.04.2022 • News
Oqema Boosts French Footprint with Orosolv Buy
Oqema has acquired the Orosolv Group in France. The deal adds companies in Oyonnax, Ain and Brignais, near Lyon, with more than 20 employees, two warehouse locations, as well as logistics, blending and repacking facilities.
Dealing with Price Volatility
It sometimes seems that everyone running a business always thinks that times are tougher now than they used to be. For producers — and buyers — of commodity chemicals, this thinking will take the more specific form of concerns about increased price volatility.
The EU Goes Green
The EU Green Deal sets a high bar for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and its impact will be felt across industries. But the chemical sector’s unique nature means that it will be more deeply affected than other industries – and more deeply involved in making net zero a reality, as well.
The Upswing of the Superstars
For its annual report "Value Creation in Chemicals 2021 – Ten Years of Steady Growth – and a Few Superstars," the strategy consultancy Boston Consulting Group examined the performance of leading international chemical companies from 2011 to 2020. The long-term perspective shows that the industry has mastered serious market downturns with astonishing confidence.
19.04.2022 • News
Novasep and PharmaZell Conclude Merger
Following exclusive negotiations that started last September, German API specialist PharmaZell and French CDMO Novasep have merged as of Apr. 7. The combined group will have revenues of nearly €500 million and employ more than 2,000 people across 10 production and R&D sites – seven in Europe, two in India and one in the US.
19.04.2022 • News
Sandoz Launches Generic Combigan Drops
Novartis subsidiary Sandoz has launched a generic version of Combigan, the ocular hypertensiondrug made by AbbVie’s Allergan arm. The copy of the off-patent eye drops will be marketed only in the US, where Allergan racked up sales of $373 million with the original product in 2021.
The Supply Chain Dilemma
Since the middle of the 1980s, the supply chain of many chemicals has moved east. This was primarily driven by cheaper production costs in China or India, due to lower raw material prices, a cheaper asset base compared to plants in the West, and lower environmental and regulatory standards.
Where Science Meets Business
From its inception in 1881, SCI's principal objective has been to further the application of chemistry and related sciences into industry for the public benefit.
