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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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%.
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.
Charles River Laboratories, a US specialist provider of laboratory, gene and cell therapy services, has acquired Explora BioLabs for approximately $295 million in cash.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pfizer has agreed to buy privately held, clinical-stage biopharma ReViral for up to $525 million, including upfront and development milestones. ReViral is focused on developing and commercializing novel antiviral therapies that target respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can lead to severe and life-threatening lower respiratory infections in high-risk populations.
