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Invista Beefing up PA Output in Shanghai

Invista Nylon Chemicals (China), subsidiary of Wichita, Kansas-based US polyamide giant Invista, has announced a major expansion of its PA 6.6 capacity in China’s Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP), which It said will strengthen its integrated production chain in the People’s Republic.

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Europe to Return J&J Covid Shots to Africa

Doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine made at Aspen Pharmacare’s facility in South Africa and shipped to Europe to fill contractual obligations will now be sent back to Africa, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported.

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Casale Wins Russian Melamine Project

Casale has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Russia’s Metafrax Chemicals for the construction of a melamine plant. The facility will be built at Metrafrax’s site in Gubakha in Russia’s Perm region

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Nouryon to Build Bermocoll Plant in Southeast Asia

Dutch specialty chemicals producer Nouryon is planning to build a new 15-20,000 t/y production facility for innovative and sustainable paints and coatings additives at a yet to be determined site in Southeast Asia. The move will expand the company’s Bermocoll business, which supplies ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (EHEC) and other essential ingredients to multinational and regional customers.

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DSM Boosts Food & Beverage Enzymes with First Choice Buy

DSM has agreed to acquire First Choice Ingredients, a US manufacturer of fermented dairy and savory flavorings for taste and functional activities in a variety of food and beverage applications. The transaction – at an enterprise value of $453 million – is expected to close in the final quarter of 2021.

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Expert Statement: Andreas Bonhoff, TTP Group

ISPE and its members are developing the roadmap to introduce Industry 4.0, also called the Smart Factory, at the pharmaceutical industry as Pharma 4.0 – an operating model that is interconnected, meaning that the digital tools allow for a fully connected network to enable direct communication between all levels in an organization.

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Expert Statement: Rino Woyczyk, Drees & Sommer

ISPE and its members are developing the roadmap to introduce Industry 4.0, also called the Smart Factory, at the pharmaceutical industry as Pharma 4.0 – an operating model that is interconnected, meaning that the digital tools allow for a fully connected network to enable direct communication between all levels in an organization.

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Expert Statement: Balajikasiram Sundararajan, ACG

ISPE and its members are developing the roadmap to introduce Industry 4.0, also called the Smart Factory, at the pharmaceutical industry as Pharma 4.0 – an operating model that is interconnected, meaning that the digital tools allow for a fully connected network to enable direct communication between all levels in an organization.

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Expert Statement: Teresa Minero, LifeBee

ISPE and its members are developing the roadmap to introduce Industry 4.0, also called the Smart Factory, at the pharmaceutical industry as Pharma 4.0 – an operating model that is interconnected, meaning that the digital tools allow for a fully connected network to enable direct communication between all levels in an organization.

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Expert Statement: Michelangelo Canzoneri, Merck

ISPE and its members are developing the roadmap to introduce Industry 4.0, also called the Smart Factory, at the pharmaceutical industry as Pharma 4.0 – an operating model that is interconnected, meaning that the digital tools allow for a fully connected network to enable direct communication between all levels in an organization.

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Expert Statement: Markus Zeitz, Novartis

ISPE and its members are developing the roadmap to introduce Industry 4.0, also called the Smart Factory, at the pharmaceutical industry as Pharma 4.0 – an operating model that is interconnected, meaning that the digital tools allow for a fully connected network to enable direct communication between all levels in an organization.

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Expert Statement: Viola Meisterling, Boehringer Ingelheim

ISPE and its members are developing the roadmap to introduce Industry 4.0, also called the Smart Factory, at the pharmaceutical industry as Pharma 4.0 – an operating model that is interconnected, meaning that the digital tools allow for a fully connected network to enable direct communication between all levels in an organization.

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The Transition to Digitalization in the Pharmaceutical Industry

ISPE and its members are developing the roadmap to introduce Industry 4.0, also called the Smart Factory, at the pharmaceutical industry as Pharma 4.0 – an operating model that is interconnected, meaning that the digital tools allow for a fully connected network to enable direct communication between all levels in an organization.

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SK Global Chemical Rebrands for Green Transformation

Korea’s SK Global Chemical has changed its name to SK Geo Centric with effect from Sep. 1 as it adopts a strategy centered on recycling and eco-friendly materials. “The plastic waste problem could turn into an opportunity. We will grow into the world’s largest urban oilfield company that converts plastic waste back into oil,” said SK Geo Centric CEO Na Kyung-soo.

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Two FDA Vaccine Experts Quit over Covid Boosters

Two key vaccine officials of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plan to quit the agency over the next three months in protest against President Joe Biden’s plan to offer Covid-19 booster shots to all Americans starting this month, even if they only received their second shot five months earlier.

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Basel-based CDMO Start-up Focuses on Injectables

A new CDMO known as Ten23 Health has been launched in Basel, Switzerland. The company that takes its name from Avogadro’s number, a proportion that relates molar mass on an atomic scale to physical mass on a human scale, was founded by Hanns-Christian Mahler, a former employee of several well-known industry players, and is financed by private equity investor 3i Group. It plans to be globally active, supporting biotech startups and established pharmaceutical customers in the development of injectables.

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LyondellBasell’s Bob Patel to Lead W. R. Grace

Bhavesh (Bob) Patel, who announced on Aug. 25 his resignation as CEO of US polyolefins giant LyondellBasell, will lead W. R. Grace with effect from January 2022. The appointment was confirmed by Standard Industries Holdings, which expects to close its acquisition of W.R. Grace in the final quarter of 2021. The US chemical producer will subsequently be de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange and become a privately held standalone company within Standard.

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Rovi Says Particles in Moderna Vials Were Metal Splinters

The question of what kind of particulate matter found its way into vials of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine deployed in Japan may have been resolved. There is as yet indication that contaminated doses may have caused the deaths of two men who had received the US biotech’s shot days earlier.

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Sanofi to Revise Buyout Plans for Translate Bio

French drugmaker Sanofi may reconsider plans to acquire Translate Bio at the conditions recently announced, the US biotech said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Translate said Sanofi withdrew and refiled the proposed buyout information recently provided to allow the FTC more time to study it.

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Catalent to Buy Bettera Holdings for $1 Billion

As part of a drive to complement its consumer health technology platform with a wider range of technologies and ready-to-market product libraries, as well as a variety of packaging options, US CDMO Catalent has announced plans to acquire Plano, Texas-based US company Bettera Holdings for $1 billion. The all-cash transaction, it said, is “subject to customary adjustments.”

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Renewable Energy for BASF Polish Plant

BASF Polska, Polish subsidiary of the Ludwigshafen-based German chemical group, has signed a two-year contract with energy utility PGE Obrót to purchase electricity produced entirely from renewable sources – for the most part wind-based – to power its mobile emissions catalysts plant in Środa Śląska.

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Solvay in Taiwan Hydrogen Peroxide Venture

Solvay and Taiwan’s Shinkong Synthetic Fibers have agreed to create a joint venture for the development, production and marketing of electronic-grade hydrogen peroxide. The companies aim to close the transaction in the second half of 2021, pending regulatory approvals in Taiwan and other countries.

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Oqema Buys Ireland’s Casoria

German chemicals distributor Oqema has acquired Ireland’s Casoria for an undisclosed sum, expanding both its network in the country and its product portfolio. Based in Cavan, Casoria distributes a range of chemicals and metals to the Irish market.

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Eurofarma to Supply Comirnaty in Latin America

Pfizer and BioNTech, partners in developing, producing and marketing the Covid-19 vaccine now called Comirnaty, have sealed a deal with CDMO Eurofarma Laboratories of Brazil to produce the vaccine for distribution in Latin America.

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Japanese Probes two Deaths after Moderna Covid Shot

Two people died in Japan within three days after receiving their second doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, the country's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reported on Aug. 28. The ministry and Moderna’s Japanese distributor, Takeda, stressed that a causal link between the vaccine and the deaths has not been established.

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Recro Pharma Pays $50 Million for Irisys

US CDMO Recro Pharma has paid roughly $50 million in a cash-and-stock deal to buy Irisys, a compatriot CDMO with operations on both the East and West Coasts. Recro said the deal expands its offering from pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) development to commercial manufacturing and packaging for a wide range of dosage forms.

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Braskem Plays Down Mooted Sale Plans

Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem has sought to play down reports that its shareholders are close to selling it. The Bloomberg news agency said last week that the company’s two major shareholders, Novonor (formerly known as Odebrecht), and Petrobras are both actively planning to divest their stakes.

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Evonik Venture Capital with new China Investment

Extending its engagement with innovative Chinese start-ups, Evonik Venture Capital is placing fresh bets on two funds. The subsidiary of the German chemical producer said it is injecting an undisclosed amount of capital into GRC SinoGreen Fund and Richland VC Fund III.

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Moderna Files with FDA for Full Covid Shot Approval

US biotech Moderna announced on Aug. 26 that it had completed its filing with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for full marketing approval of its mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine for people age 18 and older. The company said it has requested a priority review as was granted the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, also mRNA based.

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SK Capital Buys Deltech Businesses

Private equity company SK Capital Partners has purchased a majority stake in the monomers, polymers and European businesses of Deltech Holdings. Financial terms and the size of the stake were not disclosed, although Deltech’s founder and current president and CEO Bob Elefante is retaining a “significant” share and will remain actively involved in the company, including serving on the board of directors.

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Lukoil Starts Work on Perm Propylene Plant

Russian oil and petrochemicals group Lukoil has started building a catalytic cracking complex at its Perm refinery. The complex includes a catalytic cracking unit producing propylene, a high-octane gasoline components unit and infrastructure facilities. Feedstock capacity will be 1.8 million t/y with production scheduled to launch in 2026.

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Lanxess Nails Down IFF’s Microbial Control Unit

Lanxess has emerged as the buyer of the former DowDuPont microbial control business that International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) put up for sale after its merger with DuPont's Nutrition and Biosciences business in February this year.

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Orlen Unipetrol Unveils Strategic Focus to 2030

Czech company Orlen Unipetrol, part of Poland’s refining and petrochemicals group PKN Orlen, has unveiled its strategic focus until 2030 as it transforms from a petroleum-oriented to a multi-energy organization.

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