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Barentz Acquires India’s Gangwal Chemicals

Globally active life science ingredients distributor Barentz International is acquiring an undisclosed majority stake in the distribution activities of India’s Gangwal Chemicals. The Mumbai-based company is a high-end distributor and specialty solutions provider that focuses on pharmaceuticals with a strong presence in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, personal care and cosmetics ingredients segments. Additionally, it has a strong position in high-end and niche specialty excipients.

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Azelis Acquires Austria’s Neupert Specialities

Azelis has acquired Neupert Specialities, an Austrian distributor specializing in food and health raw materials and ingredients in its local market, as well as in Germany and Switzerland. The deal strengthens the Belgium-based distributor’s presence in the growing Austrian food and health segment and in the region’s broader life sciences market, also adding cross-selling opportunities.

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Ineos Styrolution Progresses PS Recycling Plans

Ineos Styrolution has confirmed plans to invest in a pilot plant in the UK for the chemical recycling of polystyrene (PS). The site in Swindon is being developed in collaboration with Recycling Technologies, a UK-based company with proprietary, patented depolymerization technology, and US plastics and rubber producer Trinseo.

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GSK Lures Pfizer’s Vaccines R&D Chief Away

Britain’s largest drugmaker, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has landed a major coup, luring Pfizer’s vaccines R&D chief away, as it tries to regain its position in the top tier of the vaccine league and build up its presence in the mRNA field. On Dec. 3, Philip Dormitzer, who had served as the US pharma giant’s chief scientific officer for RNA and viral vaccines since 2015, will say goodbye to New York and, figuratively, at least, hello to London.

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ADM Takes Serbia’s Sojaprotein

US food and nutrition group ADM has acquired Sojaprotein, a Serbian-based provider of non-GMO soy ingredients, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition expands ADM’s global alternative protein capabilities and its ability to meet growing demand for plant-based foods and beverages.

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Pfizer Lifts Paxlovid Capacity Before EUA is Granted

In response to new data published by rival Merck that downgrade earlier efficacy forecasts for its for Covid-19 oral antiviral treatment, Pfizer has announced will increase production capacity of its own antiviral pill Paxlovid as it waits for an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA.

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BASF Creates Renewable Energy Offshoot

World’s largest chemical producer BASF is creating a new company dedicated to renewable energy. The new firm, BASF Renewable Energy, which is to be based at the group’s Ludwigshafen, Germany headquarters, will steer internal projects as well as collaboration with external partners.

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Novozymes and Novo Nordisk Partner on Enzymes

Danish companies Novozymes and Novo Nordisk Pharmatech are teaming up to develop technical enzymes to support biopharma processing. The companies aim to develop high-quality enzymatic processing aids for the regenerative medicines market, focusing on stem cell and gene therapies.

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Commission Investigates Greiner/Recticel Deal

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess Greiner’s proposed acquisition of Recticel over concerns that the combined entity would reduce competition in the technical foams market. The polyester- or polyether-based flexible foams are used in a wide variety of applications in diverse industries, including the automotive, construction, household and clothing industries.

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BP Plans Large-scale Green Hydrogen Plant at Teesside

British energy giant BP has decided to build a large-scale plant to produce green hydrogen from renewable feedstocks, wind, water and solar energy at its Teesside complex in northeast England. The plans are in line with the London-based group’s drive to move away from fossil fuels, in company with other global petrochemical powerhouses.

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Biden Asks Court to Reinstate Vaccine Mandate

Days before news of the omicron-dubbed latest coronavirus mutant emerged, the administration of US president Joe Biden called on the courts to remove a stay on the implementation of its plans to mandate Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for employees of all companies employing more than 100 people by Jan. 4, 2022 or require them to undergo weekly testing.

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Lummus Signs First European License for Pyrolysis Technology

Lummus Technology’s Green Circle subsidiary has finalized a Letter of Intent with Phigenesis, which will use its New Hope Plastics Pyrolysis technology in a new chemical recycling facility in Europe. The facility, which will have a capacity of 150,000 t/y, marks the first license of the process in Europe. The companies did not disclose where the plant will be built.

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Lanxess Adds Compounding Capacity in China

German specialty chemicals and plastics producer Lanxess is widening its plastics compounding network in China further. With an investment of €30 million, the company is building a second compounding line for its Durethan- and Pocan-branded PA and PBT engineering plastics at its site in Changzhou, Jiangsu province.

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News • Chemistry

Bioscience Trends in China’s New Five-Year Plan

China’s 14th Five-Year Plan “145” suggests that the dynamics initiated by the previous Five-Year Plan are to be maintained and even surpassed. As in the previous planning period, high priority is given to modernizing the country and the economy through R&D.

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News • Chemistry

Selecting the Right European Location for Life Sciences Activities

Agile and resilient: This is how manufacturers in the life sciences industry could be described during the Covid-19 pandemic. As disruption took hold in many other industries’ supply chains, life ­sciences companies moved to rapidly develop new products and build new capacity. They are maintaining this momentum, with pharmaceutical and biotech businesses showing continued interest in expanding existing operations in Europe or starting operations from scratch.

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Novasep and McSAF in ADC Partnership

French CDMO Novasep is collaborating with compatriot biotech McSAF on the preclinical production of Adcitmer, a next-generation antibody drug conjugate (ADC) for treating neuroendocrine cancers.

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Linde and KazMunayGas in Clean Energy Pact

German industrial gases and technology company Linde has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas group KazMunayGas to jointly develop clean energy projects.

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Air Liquide and BASF Win EU Funds for Antwerp CCS Project

Air Liquide and BASF have received an undisclosed funding award from the European Innovation Fund as part of plans to develop what the EU expects to be the world’s largest cross-border Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) value chain, starting at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium.

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OCI and Abu Dhabi Firms in Methanol Alliance

OCI, a Dutch producer of methanol and nitrogen products, has formed a strategic alliance with investors ADQ and Alpha Dhabi Holding. The Abu Dhabi-based firms will take a 15% stake in OCI’s methanol business for $375 million. The transaction is expected to be finalized this year.

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Soriot Finds Own Answer for Europe’s Covid Surge

The delta variant of the coronavirus is taking its toll on Europe as vaccine skepticism shows no signs of going into remission, and promising oral treatments developed by Pfizer and Merck & Co have not yet been approved. With deaths now feared to top 2 million by March 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) says the pandemic has become the leading cause of death in the region, whereby it helps to know that the WHO’s definition includes such countries as Russia, Ukraine, Tajikistan and Israel.

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Hexion Holdings to Sell Epoxy Businesses to Westlake

Concluding its ongoing strategic review, Hexion Holdings has agreed to sell its epoxy-based Coatings and Composite businesses to Westlake Chemical for about $1.2 billion. The deal is expected to close in the 2022 second half, following all approvals. The activities to be divested include the epoxy specialty resins and base epoxy resins and intermediates product lines.

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Bayer Loses Another Roundup Judgment Appeal

Bayer has lost another appeal of one of its three lost Roundup cases. The Supreme Court of the US state of California late last week declined to review the verdict in the trial Pilliod v. Monsanto. The German group, which bought Monsanto in 2018 as the first round of litigation was getting started, petitioned for a review this past September.

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Sterling Pharma Invests Further at Dudley

UK CDMO Sterling Pharma Solution has announced the next phase of a multi-year investment at its site in Dudley. The £10m project will include new process development laboratories plus the installation of additional commercial-scale production equipment to meet the ongoing growth in demand for small molecule API manufacturing.

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Reliance and Aramco Shelve O2C Investment Plan

Reliance Industries and Saudi Aramco have mutually agreed to shelve plans for the latter to take a stake in the Indian company’s oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business. Reliance is now withdrawing its application with India’s National Company Law Tribunal to spin off the O2C business in preparation for the deal.

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Biden Taps Califf to Return as FDA Commissioner

US president Joe Biden has nominated Robert M. Califf to return to the job he once held as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In a statement, Biden – who had been criticized for not naming a new FDA chief sooner, said Califf “has the experience and expertise to lead FDA during a critical time in our nation’s fight to put an end to the coronavirus pandemic.”

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BASF to Sell Kaolin Minerals Business to KaMin

BASF is selling its kaolin minerals business to KaMin, a globally active minerals company owned by IMin Partners and headquartered in Macon, Georgia, USA. Part of BASF’s Performance Chemicals division, the activities had sales of around €155 million in 2020 and a workforce of 440 in North America, Europe and Asia.

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Pfizer Seeking EUA for oral Covid Treatment

Pharma giant Pfizer has filed an application with the US Food and Drug Administration seeking an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its Paxlovid-branded antiviral oral CovidD-19 treatment. Specifically, the company is seeking authorization for the oral drug to be used in treating mild to moderate disease in patients at a higher risk of hospitalization and death.

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IMCD Boosts Life Sciences with Megasetia Buy

Dutch multinational specialty chemicals and ingredients distributor IMCD has agreed to buy Indonesia’s Megasetia Agung Kimia, boosting its presence in the country. Financial terms were not revealed, but the transaction will take place in two tranches.

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Lonza Adds Microbial Development Facilities at Visp

CDMO Lonza is adding microbial development capabilities at its Visp, Switzerland, site. The company said the investment will support a capacity increase services targeting microbial-derived proteins. Both the expanded laboratory space and the new equipment should be in place by the end of this year.

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German Chemical Growth Slows in Q3

Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industry continued on an upward curve in the 2021 third quarter, though growth tapered off, the industry association Verband der Chemischen Industrie (VCI) said in its quarterly report. Progress was hampered in part by tightening raw material supply, strained logistics and rising energy prices. Looking ahead, the association said, is for a “further cooling” of the sector’s business is on the horizon.

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Baxter Expands German Fill &Finish Facility

US healthcare company Baxter International is planning to spend roughly $100 million to expand a sterile fill & finish facility at Halle in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The plant is operated by BioPharma Solutions (BPS), a Baxter unit that specializes in partnering with leading pharma and biotech firms on the development and contract manufacturing of product for parenteral (injectable) drugs.

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ADNOC and Borealis Give Final Nod on Borouge 4

Abu Dhabi National Oil (ADNOC) and Borealis have signed the final investment agreement for their Borouge 4 complex at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. The deal confirms their intent to spend $6.2 billion on the project, which will consist of a 1.5 million t/y ethane cracker, two PE plants producing 1.4 million t/y and a 100,000 t/y cross-linked PE plant.

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Navigating Uncertainty and Driving Innovation

Axplora CCO Arul Ramadurai discusses navigating industry uncertainty, building strategic partnerships, and advancing flexible pharmaceutical manufacturing