CureVac and GSK have announced they are launching a Phase 1 clinical trial with their modified mRNA-based Covid 19 vaccine CV051, which would be recommended as a booster to protect against the omicron variant.
Under the name ForGround, Bayer is rolling out a US digital farming platform designed to help US growers use environmentally friendly practices and connect them with companies seeking more sustainable food, feed and biofuel ingredients.
Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk has signed a Letter of Intent with Chinese bioenergy enterprise Debo to take the full output of its proposed green methanol plant.
Just as the outlook for gas supply to Germany appeared somewhat brighter, at the end of last week Russian gas giant Gazprom announced it would shut down the pipeline NordStream 1 from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 to carry out repairs.
Azelis has agreed to buy Turkish specialty chemicals distributor Dağalti Kauçuk San, marking its third acquisition in the country so far this year.
British engineering and consulting group Wood has won two contracts from Uzbek contractor Enter Engineering for projects in the Central Asian country. The contracts together are worth more than $200 million.
Evonik is expanding production capacity for its Acematt-branded matting agents at its site in Taiwan.
Germany’s Bayer has hired US lobby firm Williams & Jensen to aid its campaign for continued access to contraceptives.
US energy technology company Baker Hughes has opened a new oilfield services chemicals manufacturing facility in Singapore, boosting its local capabilities and expanding its presence in Asia.
Rentschler Biopharma has appointed Mark Caswell as Vice President and Site Head. He joined Rentschler in July 2022 and is managing all operations at the company’s US facilities in Milford, MA.
German chemicals, pharmaceuticals and life science group Merck has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the chemical business of Mecaro, a manufacturer of heater blocks for heating wafers in the semiconductor process or glasses in the LCD (liquid crystal display) process, along with chemical precursors for semiconductors.
Italian contractor Eurotecnica has won a contract from China’s Xinji Energy Chemical to build a high-pressure melamine plant.
Avient, a US-based multinational specialized polymer materials manufacturer, has agreed to sell its distribution business to an affiliate of private equity group H.I.G. Capital for $950 million in cash.
The strategic partnership of Boston-based US biotech GreenLight Biosciences and Korean CDMO Samsung Biologics has completed the first commercial-scale engineering run for its mRNA production.
Both houses of the US Congress have passed the White House’s $430 billion bill, which could decisively shape issues as diverse as pharmaceutical pricing and greenhouse gas emissions.
Japan’s Kao Corp. is planning to double capacity of synthetic fragrance methyl dihydrojasmonate (MDJ) at its plant in Spain as it aims to expand market share in Europe for the jasmine-scented product.
Johnson & Johnson is finally pulling the plug on its iconic talc-based baby powder worldwide.
Mitsubishi Chemical is planning to increase production of its Soarnol ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) resin at Saltend in the UK.
US specialty chemicals company Solenis has entered into an agreement to buy Clearon, a compatriot manufacturer of sanitizers and disinfectants for water treatment and household, industrial and institutional applications. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A US federal court has ordered Eli Lilly to pay over $61 million in damages after whistleblower Ronald Streck filed a lawsuit alleging that the drugmaker had underpaid rebates required under the Medicaid program.
German engineering plastics producer Covestro has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Additive Manufacturing Business to US 3D printing specialist Stratasys for about €43 million. Closing of the deal is expected for the first quarter of 2023.
Göttingen, Germany-based life science group Sartorius, through its French-listed subgroup Sartorius Stedim Biotech, plans to acquire all shares of Nottingham, England’s Albumedix, a specialist in recombinant albumin-based solutions, for about £415 million.
American Australian engineering group Worley has won two contracts from Corpus Christi Polymers (CCP) to build an integrated PTA/PET plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.
Borealis has confirmed its intention to launch a squeeze-out offer for Belgian fertilizer producer Rosier. It already held 77.5% of Rosier and raised its shareholding to 98.09% through a capital increase late last month.
CDMO heavyweight Catalent is acquiring compatriot Metrics Contract Services, a full-service specialty CDMO with a facility in Greenville, North Carolina, for $475 million. Mayne Pharma Group is the seller.
As one of the BASF group’s latest steps to increase sustainability and move closer to net zero emissions, US subsidiary BASF Corporation is embracing one of the newest instruments popular with US industry, virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs).
British multinational engineering and consulting group Wood has won a contract worth more than $100 million to provide engineering and construction management services to Ineos’ proposed cracker complex in Antwerp, Belgium.
Thermo Fisher Scientific has completed the planned expansion of its US dry powder media manufacturing capacity in Grand Island, New York, which it said is designed to meet increasing global demand for cell culture media used in the manufacturing of new vaccines and biologics.
Italy’s Stamicarbon, part of engineering group Maire Tecnimont, has been selected to license its urea technology for a project in Sub-Saharan Africa. The melt and granulation plant, the first urea production facility in the country, will have capacity of 4,000 t/d. The identity of the client was not disclosed.
Gilead Sciences has agreed to acquire MiroBio, a privately held UK biotech focused on treating inflammatory diseases, for about $405 million in cash.
Borealis has reaffirmed the suspension of construction on a new propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant at Kallo, Belgium. The Vienna-based group cited “serious allegations” concerning a two-subcontractor joint venture that is being scrutinized by Belgian authorities.
Amgen is beefing up its inflammatory diseases portfolio with an agreement to buy US biopharma ChemoCentryx for roughly $3.7 billion. The deal gives Amgen access to vasculitis treatment Tavneos.
Pfizer is paying $5.4 billion to acquire Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT), a drugmaker specialized in treating blood disorders. It is one of several deals the company has inked recently to offset dwindling sales from its vaccine and therapeutics for Covid-19.
In addition to the transformation towards a climate-neutral chemical industry and the perennial topic of digitalization, the current global political situation also poses massive challenges for the process industry. Which technologies can be used to achieve defossilization? How to secure and enhance regional and global supply chain networks? And what hurdles must be overcome in the digitalization of the industry?
Engineering companies McDermott International and KBR have entered into a global licensing agreement to provide integrated solutions for KBR's proprietary ammonia technologies.
