Pfizer will invest $120 million at its plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to support US production of its Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir) oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19. The company said the money will fund an expansion of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and registered starting materials (RSMs) used to produce the treatment and make it one of the world’s largest producers of APIs.
Chemicals distributor Oqema has strengthened its market position in Germany with the acquisition of ACC Beku, a specialty chemicals distributors that manufactures and bottles hardeners, lacquers and other “everyday” products. ACC Bekku now operates as an independent subsidiary of Oqema under the name Oqemiqs.
In the their first-ever collaboration, South Korea’s Samsung Biologics and Switzerland’s Novartis have inked an initial $81 million contract manufacturing and development deal, Samsung said in a regulatory filing.
German CDMO CordenPharma, a specialist in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), excipients, drug products and packaging services (APIs), is investing more than €10 million in a new lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulation, development and production area at its sterile injectable facility in Caponago, Italy.
Multinational tank storage operator Vopak will invest a total of €2 billion to expand its new energies, sustainable feedstocks, and industrial and gas terminals portfolio by 2030. The company also intends to improve the performance of its portfolio, targeting an operating cash return of at least 10% by 2025.
DSM has entered into an agreement to buy Prodap, a Brazilian animal nutrition and technology company. The deal remains subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in 2022. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Leading chemicals and ingredients distributor Brenntag is partnering Al-Azzaz Chemicals, a Saudi Arabian specialty chemicals distributor, in a 75:25 joint venture. Brenntag’s alliance in Saudi is represented through Trychem FZCO, its majority-owned joint venture based in the United Arab Emirates.
State-backed Italian energy group Eni has reportedly been tapped by the government of Qatar to lead a consortium of five global energy groups to stem the near $30 billion expansion of the North Field, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.
In a vote of 21 in favor with one abstention, the US Food and Drug Administration’s advisory panel has recommended that the FDA approve Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine Nuaxovid for emergency use. If the health agency agrees, it would be the fourth such shot available in the US, joining the mRNA products of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna and the viral vector shot of Johnson & Johnson’s pharma subsidiary Janssen.
Repsol has announced plans to invest €105 million to build a plant for ultra-high molecular weight PE (UHMWPE) at its Puertollano complex in Spain. The company said the facility will be the first in Iberia for the “super polymer”.
The European Parliament was at the center of political disagreement and disappointment on Jun. 8 as a plenary vote on one of three key climate laws failed, and the proposals were sent back to committees. Finger-pointing and name-calling across the aisles followed, according to recordings from the session.
US science, technology and engineering group KBR is investing a further $100 million in chemical recycling firm Mura Technology. The move takes KBR’s aggregate investment in Mura to 18.5%.
German specialty chemicals producer Evonik has announced it will build a new, highly flexible, global-scale US production facility for pharmaceutical lipids at the Tippecanoe site in Lafayette, Indiana.
US drugmaker Eli Lilly has announced plans to invest $2.1 billion to expand its manufacturing footprint by setting up two new sites in Boone County, Indiana. The facilities will expand Lilly’s network for active ingredients and new therapeutic modalities, such as genetic medicines, while also supporting increasing demand for its products.
US plastics additives and colorants manufacturer Milliken said it has made a “significant investment” in the coating additives laboratory it acquired in the early 2021 takeover of Borchers Americas.
Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical has decided to sell its stake in Australian agrochemicals company Nufarm. Sumitomo’s holding represents 15.9% of Nufarm’s outstanding shares.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has greenlit GSK’s Priorix-branded GSK’s mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) for people 12 months and older. It is only the second such shot to be licensed for US distribution in more than 50 years. Merck & Co’s MMR-II vaccine was approved by the FDA for the pediatric application in 1971.
AkzoNobel has agreed to buy Kansai Paint’s activities in Africa, strengthening its footprint in the region. The sale is expected to close in 2023, subject to regulatory approvals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Johnson Matthey has completed the sale of its Health business to US-based private equity firm Altaris Capital Partners for £325 million. As part of the transaction, Johnson Matthey has retained a stake of approximately 30% in the business, which has been rebranded as Veranova.
Pfizer is set to start divesting its 32% stake in Haleon, the consumer health joint venture with GSK, when the British pharma completes the company’s spinoff and Haleon begins trading on the London Stock Exchange on July 18.
CEPSA will invest up to €5 billion in the Andalusian region during the current decade to lead the generation of sustainable energy in Spain and Portugal.
Linde Engineering has been tasked with carrying out a large-scale revamp and expansion of a polypropylene plant operated by Slovnaft in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Chemours, the former DuPont chemicals business, is looking at investing in additional ionomers capacity to support growing demand into water electrolysis and fuel cell technology. The company is currently considering potential locations in the US and Europe with, it said, an eye to local community engagement and collaboration.
Bakelite Synthetics – formerly part of US resins producer Hexion – has closed its purchase of Georgia-Pacific Chemicals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
German specialty chemicals producer Lanxess and private equity investor Advent International have clinched a carefully constructed deal to buy DSM’s engineering plastics business for around €3.7 billion. The assets will then be merged with the Lanxess engineering plastics portfolio to create a new market player with annual sales of around €3 billion.
The governing board of the World Health Organization (WHO) has agreed to form a new committee to help speed up the response to health emergencies such as Covid-19. The action addresses criticism of the agency’s perceived slowness to act during the early phase of the coronavirus before it became a full-blown global pandemic.
Major API supplier Olon is establishing a €10 million central R&D hub at its headquarters site in Roadano, near Milan. The Italian company said the facility paves the way for a further major expansion and diversification of its expertise in active pharmaceutical ingredients supplied to the CDMO and generics markets.
Johnson Matthey has agreed to sell parts of its Battery Materials business in two separate transactions, marking a turnaround from its decision in January to close the division after failing to secure a buyer.
Lonza and Israel Biotech Fund (IBF) have signed a framework agreement, under which the Swiss CDMO will provide advice and support for Israeli biotech companies. IBF is dedicated to investing in and developing Israel’s biotech sector.
Azelis has agreed to buy Chemo India and Unipharm Laboratories, distributors of specialty chemicals and ingredients for the coatings, adhesives, sealants & elastomers (CASE), lubricants & metalworking fluids and pharmaceutical market segments in India.
Swiss specialty chemicals producer Clariant and its process partner, US engineering technology giant Lummus, have been tapped by Fujian Meide to supply the Catofin technology and catalysts for a new propane dehydrogenation plant (PDH) the subsidiary of Zhongjing Petrochemicals will operate in Fuzhou, China.
Building on agreements signed last September, BP, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and Masdar have inked further agreements to progress their partnerships on blue and green hydrogen projects in both the UK and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Evonik is selling the TAeTTOOz materials technology for printable rechargeable batteries to InnovationLab, a company that helped developed it in partnership with the chemical producer’s Creavis “strategic development arm.
German chemical and pharmaceutical producers increased output by 1.3% and sales by 7.8% to €66.3 billion in the 2022 first quarter, compared with the last 2021 quarter. The quarter-on-quarter sales total was padded by a 6.7% price rise against the last three months of 2021, the industry association Verband der Chemischen Industrie said.
Norwegian renewable chemicals company Circa has teamed up with Finnish technology group Valmet to progress its ReSolute project, which is currently underway in France, as well as future large-scale plants.
