Somewhat later than expected, the US may soon be able to offer Covid-19 vaccinations for children five years of age and younger, something parents have repeatedly demanded. And there may be two companies’ mRNA-based shots to choose from.
Korea’s Hanmi Fine Chemical, which specializes in developing and manufacturing APIs, is launching a CDMO business. The Seoul-based company will invest about 10 billion Korean won to build what it terms “high-tech” CDMO facilities.
The Life Science segment of Germany’s Merck is investing around €440 million to increase membrane and filtration manufacturing capabilities in Ireland’s County Cork. The plans call for adding capacity at an existing plant in Carrigtwohill and building a new plant in Blarney Business Park.
Bayer is stepping away from the $670 million CAR-T worldwide license agreement it entered with Atara Biotherapeutics in 2020.
German drug discovery and development company Evotec and Canadian therapeutics company Sernova are collaborating to develop a diabetes treatment based on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). As part of the agreement, Evotec will make an equity investment in Sernova of €20 million.
Borouge, the Borealis/Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) joint venture, has announced plans to float a 10% stake in the company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). The initial public offering (IPO) will make 3 billion shares available, which could reportedly raise about $2 billion.
Solvay is investing in Suanfarma’s manufacturing site in Lisbon, Portugal, run by subsidiary Cipan, to develop its biotechnological capabilities and support the development of natural ingredients used in the food, flavors and fragrance industries. The move is the first of a long-term strategic alliance between the two firms.
As Europe and North America face a potential monkeypox outbreak, Danish biotech Bavarian Nordic has won a contract to supply its smallpox vaccine to an unnamed European country.
BASF has doubled production capacity for its Irganox 1010-branded antioxidant at its site on Jurong Island, Singapore. The German group said the increase was achieved by integrating an additional production line into the existing production facilities.
The development and demonstration of a resilient power supply for data centers using fuel cells is the goal of the current EU research project "EcoEdge PrimePower" (E2P2). For the safe and long-term use of fuel cells, Tec4fuels is developing a water loop for the process water supply of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC).
French technology provider Axens and compatriot producer Toray Films Europe are collaborating on a study to install a PET chemical recycling facility at the latter’s site in Saint-Maurice-de-Beynost.
Cytiva, the former biopharma activities of General Electric and now part of Danaher, will open a new manufacturing facility in Grens, Switzerland, on May 31. Operations at the existing site in Eysins will continue through 2023, while full production transfers to the Grens site.
The European Commission has indicated it may cancel an advance purchase agreement with Valneva that calls for the France-headquartered biotech to supply 60 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate over a two-year period up to 2023. A clause in the 2021 contract provided for termination if the European Medicines Agency (EMA) failed to grant conditional marketing authorization before the end of April 2022.
Malaysian petrochemicals giant Petronas Group (PCG) has conditionally agreed to acquire all of Swedish chemical producer Perstorp from Financière Forêt, a European private equity investor belonging to PAI Partners.
Shaheen Chem Holdings Investment, a privately owned company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is joining the proposed Ta’ziz and Reliance Industries joint project that will produce chlor-alkali, EDC and PVC in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
Large-scale projects in pharmaceutical logistics are complex, long-term and investment-intensive projects that can only be successfully implemented with an assertive and goal-oriented large-scale project organization structure.
Dorothee Arns, Director General of FECC, discusses current challenges, market trends and her vision for the chemical distribution industry in Europe. The interview was conducted by Michael Reubold and Ralf Kempf.
Major UK pharmaceutical producer GlaxoSmithKline is slimming down not only by spinning off its consumer health business. It is also shedding excess verbiage by trimming its name to the three-letter acronym the company is known by, GSK.
US CDMO Avantor has announced plans to create a new manufacturing and distribution hub in Singapore in order to get closer to regional customers and strengthen its global supply chain capabilities.
Investment company H.I.G. Capital has agreed to sell Valtris Specialty Chemicals to an affiliate of funds managed by SK Capital Partners. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Based in Independence, Ohio, USA, the company manufactures specialty polymer additives and specialty chemicals at nine plants located around the world.
After making “good progress”, both strategically and financially, in the recent past, the next phase in Evonik’s drive toward enhanced business growth will see it execute “targeted and massive investments” in green chemistry and establish sustainability as its central innovation driver, CEO Christian Kullmann said at the company’s Capital Markets Day.
EureKING, a new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) steered by former European biopharma executives, launched itself on May 9 and in a subsequent listing on the Paris-based Euronext stock exchange raised €150 million to buy up small European CDMOs that make biologics, cell and gene therapies or live biotherapeutics.
Wacker Chemie has opened a new US regional innovation center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, dedicated to developing high-margin biotech and silicone specialties for high-tech applications. The site will also serve as headquarters of Wacker Chemical Corporation, responsible for its business in North and Central America.
Supply chain visibility (SCV) seems to be on everyone’s agenda right now. However, when talking to companies, it quickly becomes clear that everyone has a different picture of visibility. Basically, visibility is about knowing more than you knew before, and this is what most companies still agree on.
When the pandemic was pounding at their doors, many industries were rattled. Healthcare and chemicals were adapting rather successfully to the new normal, as a McKinsey & Company survey reveals.
Major drugmaker Pfizer has agreed to buy US biotech Biohaven Pharmaceutical for around $11.6 billion. Founded in 2013 and based in New Haven, Connecticut, Biohaven specializes in drugs that target neurological diseases and rare disorders.
US health authorities are restricting the use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine somewhat belatedly, citing the rare blood clotting issues that have dogged this vaccine from the start, as well as the AstraZeneca shot.
CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their views on the prospects for the chemical distribution sector.
CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their views on the prospects for the chemical distribution sector.
CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their views on the prospects for the chemical distribution sector.
Asia-Pacific contract research organization (CRO) Novotech has acquired NCGS, a US CRO with about 300 employees and a biopharma client base. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “This is a strategic move to provide US-based expertise and infrastructure for our US clients wanting trials in Asia-Pacific and the US, and for our Asia-Pacific clients wanting US clinical program, said Novotech CEO John Moller.
Tank terminal operator Vopak and energy infrastructure company Gasunie have agreed to jointly develop projects to facilitate the import of hydrogen into Northwest Europe via Dutch and German ports.
Interview with Giovanna Libralon, Senior Director Commercial Development Small Molecules at Lonza.
Bayer’s advice to shareholders expressing concern about the development of the company’s stock at its early May annual general meeting, to bide their time and wait for the US Supreme Court to deal with the issue of warning labels for agrochemicals packaging, seems to have been too hasty.
UK lithium processing company Green Lithium has agreed terms with major commodities trader Trafigura to build a commercial lithium refinery. The facility, to be built at an undisclosed location in the UK, will supply high-purity lithium hydroxide to both UK and European markets. Wood will oversee the refinery’s engineering, construction and commissioning.
