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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Helwan Fertilizers, Abu Qir Fertilizers and Al Ahly Capital Holding have agreed to set up a new company for producing methanol, ammonia and petrochemicals.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Swiss specialty chemicals producer Clariant has agreed to acquire the remaining 70% of Brazilian Personal Care Specialties company Beraca after taking a 30% stake in 2015. Seller is the founding Sabará family. Financial terms of the acquisition expected to close in this year’s fourth quarter were not disclosed.
First to receive US approval under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in late 2020, the BioNTech/Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on Aug. 23 became the first to be fully approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for marketing and use in the country.
Swiss specialty chemicals company Sika has agreed to sell its European industrial coatings business to US paints and coatings group Sherwin-Williams for an undisclosed sum.
Odfjell Gas Shipowning, a wholly owned subsidiary of Norwegian shipping and storage operator Odfjell, has agreed to sell two ethylene/liquified petroleum gas (LPG) carriers to Singapore’s BW Epic Kosan (BWEK), marking its exit from the gas carrier business. The two vessels, named Bow Guardian and Bow Gallant, were both built at a South Korean shipyard in 2008.
Swiss CDMO Lonza plans to invest an undisclosed sum to establish drug product manufacturing capabilities at its site in Guangzhou, China. The investment in the central-southern province of Guangdong will include installation of an aseptic drug product fill and finish production line at the 17,000 m2 state-of-the-art cGMP mammalian facility.
Fu Xiangsheng, Vice Chairman of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, characterized China`s chemical industry as having a a surplus of basic chemicals and a shortage of functional chemicals. Indeed, the share of fine chemicals as a percentage of the total industry value is only about 45% compared to 60-70% in the US and in many European countries, and 90% in Switzerland. Thus, the Chinese government is interested in supporting the development of local fine chemicals production.
South Korean chemical giant LG Chem has announced plans to invest 2.6 trillion won – or $2.2 billion – in building 10 new plants for environmentally friendly materials by 2028. LG said the move is aimed at transforming its business structure toward high-value sustainability businesses.
Curia, the US CDMO formerly known as AMRI, has announced it will invest $35 million to expand commercial manufacturing capacity at its Rensselaer, New York, production facility over the next 18 months.
Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson since 2012, has announced he will step down from the healthcare giant’s top slot at the beginning of 2022 and hand over to current vice chairman of the executive committee, Joaquin Duato. With the transfer of responsibility, Gorsky will become executive chairman, and Duarto will be appointed to the board of directors.
Dow is investing an undisclosed sum in its methyl acrylate production to meet growing demand both in North America and worldwide. The project at its St Charles operations in Hahnville, Louisiana, USA, will add 50,000 t/y of capacity by the first half of 2022. Dow said the extra output will “enable global growth with a focus on supplying North American demand.”
US drugmaker Eli Lilly has announced changes to its executive leadership team as it creates two new business units in order to strengthen its focus on introducing breakthrough medicines for patients with unmet needs.
After more than a decade, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finally moving to block the use of the controversial insecticide active ingredient chorpyrifos on food crops. It will still be permitted for nonfood uses such as on golf courses, turf, utility poles and fence posts as well as in cockroach bait and ant treatments.
US biotech Novavax, in the final stage of developing its protein-based Covid-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373, is adding muscle in human resources before applying to the US Food and Drug Administration, along with other national and international regulators for emergency use authorization in the fourth quarter.
Ineos Energy, Wintershall Dea and a consortium of 29 companies, research institutes and universities have signed an agreement to support the next and second phase of the Greensand pilot project in Denmark to demonstrate the safe and permanent storage of CO2.
Despite the double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic and the related supply chain disruption, Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries performed well in the first half of 2021, the industry association Verband der Chemischen Industrie (VCI) said.
