As expected, the Europe Medicines Agency (EMA) on Jan. 29 gave the green light for AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for use in the Covid-19 vaccine for use in the 27-member EU. Rather than this news, however, the political fallout over the bloc’s response to the drugmaker’s delivery delays announced at the beginning of the week continued to dominate the conversation.
Shintech, the US arm of Japan’s Shin-Etsu Chemical and the world’s largest producer of PVC, has announced a further vinyls expansion in Louisiana, as it continues work on another PVC project in the same state.
In a move to expand its food and nutrition business in China, Germany-based international distributor Brenntag said it plans to acquire the majority of specialty ingredients distributor Zhongbai Xingye. The activities will become part of the global division of Brenntag Specialties. The deal values the business at about €90 million.
With news of an EU Covid-19 vaccine shortage dominating international headlines, another European player is stepping up to try to bridge the gap. On the heels of French drugmaker Sanofi, Swiss pharma giant Novartis said this week it is exploring whether it can deploy its own manufacturing network to boost supply.
Global commodities trader Trammo and Dutch engineering group Proton Ventures have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on green ammonia – or what it termed NFuel – projects.
The private equity owners of Polynt-Reichhold are seeking a sale of the specialty chemicals company, according to Reuters. Sources told the news agency that the value of any deal would likely be about €2.5 billion. An agreement is expected in the second quarter of this year.
DuPont, along with Chemours, its former fluourochemicals and plastics business, and Corteva, the combined agrochemicals businesses of DuPont and Dow, have buried the hatchet and announced a cost-sharing agreement worth $4 billion to settle lawsuits over liability for discharges into US waterways of perfluorinated compounds such as PFAS and PFOA.
In a move to strengthen its market position in Austria and expertise in specialties, Oqema has acquired a majority share in Austria-based CB Chemie.
US-based multinational distributor Univar Solutions has agreed to sell its Distrupol subsidiary to GPD Companies, an affiliate of One Rock Capital Partners. Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2021, were not disclosed.
LyondellBasell (LYB) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, better known as Sinopec, have finalized plans for a 50:50 joint venture to produce propylene oxide (PO) and styrene monomer (SM) in China for the domestic market. A non-binding Memorandum Understanding (MoU) was signed at the end of 2019.
For months, pandemic watchers have weighed in on the potential inequity of vaccine distribution, focusing mainly on the First World hoarding supplies that Third World wouldn’t receive. Unexpectedly, it is now Europe that has its boxing gloves on, ready to claw back what it sees as its fair share.
Activist investor Starboard Value is seeking to take control of agricultural giant Corteva and replace its CEO, Jim Collins. Its nominations are up for election at Corteva’s 2021 annual meeting, for which a date has not yet been set.
Dutch lactic acid specialist Corbion said it plans to increase its North American capacity by about 40% to meet growing demand for natural ingredients in multiple industries and reinforce its position as a leading worldwide supplier of lactic acid and derivatives.
Austrian multinational energy and petrochemicals group OMV is expanding and modernizing the cracker and associated units at its Burghausen refinery in Germany. The measures will increase annual ethylene and propylene capacity by about 50,000 t/y, meeting growth in demand for petrochemical products both in the Bavarian Chemical Triangle and in international markets, OMV said.
German chemical distributor Oqema has acquired Hamburg, Germany-based compatriot Claus Nitsche & Sohn. Oqema said that with its focus on high-quality essential oils, natural flavors, fragrances ingredients and innovative ingredients solutions, the product scope of Claus Nitsche & Sohn is a perfect complement to the groups’s Flavour & Fragrance range.
German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim and UK biotech Enara Bio have agreed to collaborate on the research and development of novel targeted cancer immunotherapies, leveraging Enara Bio’s proprietary Dark Antigen Platform Technology (EDAPT).
Following initial euphoria over conditional marketing approval of two Covid-19 vaccines by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in recent weeks, EU countries are turning sour on the first-past-the-post team, as Pfizer and BioNTec have informed authorities of what in a worst case scenario could be a massive shortfall in near-term deliveries.
DSM has established an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab for Biosciences in collaboration with Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands.
Industrial gases group Linde will build, own and operate what it said will be the world’s largest proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer plant at its chemical complex in Leuna, Germany.
After four years of Donald Trump rolling back Obama era environmental legislation, newly inaugurated US president Joe Biden on Jan. 20, his first day in office, rolled back a number of the Trump administration’s rollbacks.
Croda Health Care will host a virtual conference on Tuesday 2 – Wednesday 3 February, created for the Pharmaceutical industry.
In another move to boost its position in diagnostics for Covid-19 and other infectious diseases, Thermo Fisher Scientific has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held molecular diagnostic company Mesa Biotech for $450 million in cash. The business will become part of its Life Sciences Solutions segment.
Members of the European Parliament (EP) at a Jan. 19 plenary debate on the EU’s strategy for Covid-19 vaccine procurement and deployment for the most part expressed support for the common approach to purchasing a common supply for the 27 member states. At the same time, they urged more solidarity in access to inoculation and transparency in contracts with pharmaceutical companies.
Swiss CDMO Lonza said it intends to unload two of its capsule production sites, at Ploermel, France, and Edinburgh, Scotland, for an undisclosed sum to London-based CDMO NextPharma. The proposed deal is subject to regulatory approval. According to reports, most of the affected employees are expected to transfer to the new owner.
W. R. Grace said it is willing to discuss a sale to 40 North Management after the private investment group raised its offer for the specialty chemical and materials firm to $65 per share, representing a value of $4.3 billion. Last November, 40 North made a first and unsolicited offer of $60 per share – or $4 billion – that Grace swiftly rejected as undervaluing the company.
Italy’s Angelini Pharma has entered into an agreement to acquire Swiss biopharma Arvelle Therapeutics in an all-cash transaction worth up to $960 million. The first $610 million will be paid following regulatory clearance of the deal, with a further $350 million paid if Arvelle’s epilepsy treatment cenobamate achieves certain revenue targets.
Dutch paints and coatings specialist AkzoNobel has offered to buy Finland’s Tikkurila as it moves to top a bid by rival US firm PPG Industries.
US drugmaker Pfizer and partner BioNTech have confirmed they will temporarily reduce Covid deliveries to Europe as Pfizer revamps its designated plant in Belgium to lift production capacity to 2 billion doses per year, as announced earlier.
Total has announced it is leaving the American Petroleum Institute (API) in disagreement over the industry grouping’s climate positions. The French energy and chemicals group said it was unable to resolve differences with API over carbon pricing, subsidies for electric vehicles and the regulation of methane emissions.
Major liquid crystal polymer (LCP) producer Celanese has announced plans to build a world-scale, multi-phase polymerization plant in China to support significant growth for its Vectra and Zenite brand of polymers.
Azelis has agreed to buy majority shareholdings in Asia Primera Kimika Inc. (APKI) and Phil-Asiatic Supply & Services Inc. (PSSI), entering the Philippine market and significantly strengthening its footprint in Southeast Asia.
US president-elect Joe Biden, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, has picked former FDA commissioner David Kessler to replace Moncef Slaoui as head of Operation Warp Speed, (OWS), the initiative started under president Donald Trump to accelerate the speed of Covid-19 vaccine development.
US-based CDMO Catalent has agreed to buy the powder inhaler spray drying, capsule manufacturing and packaging operations of Acorda Therapeutics, a biotech specializing in developing therapies for neurological disorders. Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, were not disclosed.
Dutch chemical producer Nouryon has rebranded its wholly-owned industrial chemicals business as Nobian. The company said the change will allow the subsidiary to develop its integrated European value chain for essential base chemicals under its own name as Nouryon continues to focus on growing its leading position in global specialty chemicals.
Marching to the tune of the groundswell generated by Western Covid-19 vaccines approved, distributed and administered in the US, UK and the EU in recent weeks, Chinese vaccine manufacturers have been beating the drum for their candidates in countries in Latin America and the Middle East as well as at home.
