The World Health Organization (WHO) has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to the AstraZeneca/ Oxford University coronavirus vaccine, in an attempt to distribute doses to more Third World countries. The vaccine will be produced by the Serum Institute of India and AstraZeneca-SKBio of South Korea.
As had been awaited, US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson has applied to the European Medicines Authority (EMA) for conditional marketing authorization of its Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine throughout the EU.
Elkem, a Norwegian manufacturer of silicon-based advanced materials, has agreed to buy a brand-new production plant near Lyon in France. The identity of the seller was not disclosed but Elkem said the purchase price is in the low double-digit millions of euros.
German CDMO Rentschler Biopharma is to establish manufacturing capacity for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), including Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for clinical trials, at the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT) site in Stevenage, UK.
Germany’s Merck is investing €18 million at its new site in Tempe, Arizona, USA, including the purchase of the 28,000 m2 production facility leased by previous owner Versum Materials, a business it acquired In 2019.
Shell has announced plans to invest $4-5 billion annually to grow its chemicals and products business as part of an organizational restructuring that aims to accelerate the Anglo-Dutch group’s target of becoming a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner.
German biotech CureVac has begun a rolling submission with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for its mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate currently in Phase 2b/3 clinical trials with 35,000 people in Europe and Latin America.
Germany’s Lanxess has signed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of Emerald Kalama Chemical from affiliates of private equity firm American Securities. The US specialty chemicals producer focused mainly on consumer markets last reported sales of $425 million and EBITDA pre-exceptionals of $90 million. Closing is expected in the second half of 2021, subject to regulatory approval.
BioNTech this week kicked off production at the Marburg, Germany, plant it acquired last year from Novartis. The plant will focus on making mRNA batches, the beginning of the manufacturing chain for the Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty that BioNTech is producing and marketing together with US drugmaker Pfizer.
Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) has won a contract to upgrade Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company’s (Sidpec) production capabilities at its flagship complex in Alexandria, Egypt.
The US Food and Drug administration (FDA) has granted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the bamlanivimab-etesevimab antibody cocktail made by Eli Lilly for treatment of patients 12 and older who have mild to moderate cases of Covid-19 but are at risk of developing a severe form of the disease.
Spanish chemical company Ercros has launched a three-year strategic plan to improve its sustainability. The plan, which incorporates 20 projects, is based on three dimensions: diversification, digitalization and decarbonization.
China contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) WuXi STA has agreed to buy Bristol Myers Squibb’s manufacturing facility in Couvet, Switzerland, for an undisclosed sum. The site will be WuXi STA’s first facility in Europe. The transaction is expected to complete during the second quarter, subject to the usual conditions and regulatory approvals.
Clariant has signed a cooperation agreement with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) to support research in catalysis and sustainable chemistry. It is providing the university with what it says is “a significant financial contribution” over an initial period of ten years. Terms were not disclosed.
Ireland-based multinational drug company Jazz Pharmaceuticals is to buy UK biopharma GW Pharma for $7.2 billion, creating a leader in neuroscience. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.
Pfizer and BioNTech are accelerating the time it takes to produce a Covid-19 vaccine batch and are aiming to almost cut it in half, Chaz Calitri, vice president of sterile injectables at Pfizer, said in an interview with the US newspaper USA Today.
Indian engineering group Nuberg has been awarded a sulfuric acid project in Egypt. Chemicals and plastics manufacturer Sprea Misr has granted a lumpsum turnkey contract for the project’s engineering, procurement and construction services. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
Austrian chemical producer Borealis has announced plans to divest its nitrogen business, including fertilizer, technical nitrogen and melamine products. The Vienna-based group, which has increasingly shifted its focus to petrochemicals and plastics, has begun consultations with employee representatives.
AkzoNobel has conceded defeat in its bid to buy Tikkurila, leaving the way clear for US rival PPG Industries to continue with its acquisition of the Finnish paints and coatings company.
Swiss specialty chemicals company Archroma is partnering US firm CleanKore to advance sustainable dyeing processes for producing clothes made from denim.
Expanding its supply relationship with compatriot BioNTech, Germany’s Merck said it will “significantly accelerate” the supply of urgently needed lipids to vaccine maker BionTech at Mainz and increase the volume of deliveries up to the end of 2021.
German chemical producer Wacker Chemie is acquiring 100% of San Diego, California- headquartered CDMO Genopis from its two South Korean owners, Helixmith and Medivate Partner, both based in Seoul.
Indian aroma chemicals producer Eternis has acquired the UK’s Tennants Fine Chemicals and its wholly owned subsidiaries in Singapore and Shanghai, China, for an undisclosed sum. The deal is Eternis’ first acquisition outside of India.
A coalescing of factors has led to arrested growth across the chemicals sector this year, with the brand value of the top 25 most valuable chemicals brands contracting by 8% on average, according to the latest report by Brand Finance, an independent brand valuation consultancy.
Danish biotech Novozymes has announced a collaboration with US agricultural sciences group FMC to research, develop and commercialize biological enzyme-based crop protection solutions. The move is part of Novozymes’ entry into the biocontrol segment, using its new enzyme-based technology.
To facilitate shipping on the Rhine River at extremely low water levels, BASF has commissioned a special tanker, which is currently being built by Stolt Tankers. Scheduled for delivery in late 2022, it will be operated exclusively for the German chemical group.
Continuing its acquisition spree of recent weeks, Azelis is to take over Italy’s Came Chemical Mineral and Engineering for an undisclosed sum. Headquartered in Milan, Came specializes in distributing chemicals for friction and sintering applications, the coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (CASE) segment and cosmetics.
DuPont has agreed to sell its Clean Technologies business for $510 million to an international private equity consortium, comprising BroadPeak Global, Asia Green Fund and The Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur).
Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine just emerging from Phase 3 clinical trials showed 66% efficacy in moderate to severe disease, and as much as to 85% in severe disease, the US healthcare group said in its first report on trial results.
Contract manufacturer Aenova has put a third, high-performance tablet press including integrated automatic in-process control into operation at its site in Regensburg, Germany, to expand its production capacity of highly potent oncology drugs.
The board of directors at Grasim Industries, part of Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla, has approved the company’s entry into the paints business. It has also given the go-ahead for an initial spend of 50 billion Indian rupees – equating to about $683 million – over the next three years to establish the business, which aims to become a “strong number two player” in the Indian decorative paints market.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has merged its downstream unit with its trading arm, creating the Downstream Industry, Marketing & Trading Directorate. The company said the new unit will be a critical milestone toward its goal to responsibly deliver energy and energy products, particularly in its core Asian market, where it expects demand for refined and petrochemical products to grow over the next 10 years.
Vaccines and treatments for Covid-19 continue to dominate global pharma market headlines. As the pandemic drags on, new issues continuously arise, some of them discouraging, such as the emergence of more and more virus mutants or production glitches that threaten to curb supply.
The CHEManager Innovation Pitch, CHEManager's start-up support initiative, entered its third year in January. But that wasn't the end of the 2020 cohort, as there were still the CHEManager Innovation Pitches of the Year to be selected. This took place at the end of January in a virtual jury session.
Brenntag has strengthened its water treatment business in the UK with the acquisition of ICL Packed, its second purchase this year so far. Financial terms of the deal, which was signed and closed on the same day, were not disclosed.
