07.10.2020 • News
Arkema Executives Acquitted in Crosby Case
A Texas judge has acquitted Arkema and three of its executives over an explosion and fire at the company’s facility in Crosby during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.
News
06.10.2020 • News
K+S in Americas Sale Talks with Stone Canyon
Responding to market rumors, German potash and salt company K+S has confirmed it is in “very advanced negotiations” with US-based global industrial holding company Stone Canyon Industries Holdings about a potential sale of its Americas operating unit.
06.10.2020 • News
J&J Said to Pay $100 Million to Settle Talc Suits
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has agreed to pay in excess of $100 million to resolve more than 1,000 class action lawsuits claiming its talc-based baby powder caused their cancer, the Bloomberg news agency has reported.
06.10.2020 • News
Total to Set up Bioplastics Hub in France
French energy and petrochemicals giant Total is planning to convert its Grandpuits refinery south of Paris into a zero-crude platform that will produce bioplastics as well as engage in chemical recycling of waste plastics. Two photovoltaic solar power plants will also be part of the project due to cost €500 million and be completed by 2024.
05.10.2020 • News
Showa Denko Merges European Units
Japan’s Showa Denko has decided to consolidate its two European subsidiaries to expand business operations in the region. Effective Jan. 1, 2021, Showa Denko Carbon Holding (SDCH) will take over Showa Denko Europe (SDE), becoming the surviving entity. It will then change its name to Showa Denko Europe.
05.10.2020 • News
LyondellBasell Buys Half of Sasol’s Lake Charles Site
LyondellBasell has agreed to pay $2 billion for a 50% stake in Sasol’s glitch-plagued production complex in Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA, The deal, scheduled to close at year’s end, includes joint ownership of the site’s new ethane cracker and downstream plastics production.
05.10.2020 • News
Roche Acquires Irish Biotech Inflazome
Swiss drugmaker Roche has acquired Irish biotech Inflazome for €380 million, said to be one of the largest deals in Irish biotech history. Headquartered in Dublin, Inflazome regards itself as a leader in the development of inflammasome inhibitors.
02.10.2020 • News
Siegfried to Buy Two Novartis Sites in Spain
Swiss CDMO Siegfried has signed a binding agreement with compatriot Novartis to acquire two pharmaceutical manufacturing sites in Spain. The Zofingen-based group said the buy will “significantly enhance” its global production network in terms of capacity and technological capabilities and will allow it to reach a critical size in finished dosage forms, thus creating further potential for profitable growth.
02.10.2020 • News
LyondellBasell Sets Out Sustainability Aims
LyondellBasell has pledged to produce and market 2 million t/y of recycled and renewable-based polymers by 2030 as part of a range of new sustainability targets.
02.10.2020 • News
Covestro to Take DSM Coatings Resins
In a major move portfolio move, German engineering plastics producer Covestro is taking over DSM’s coating resins business for €1.6 billion, including debt. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, following all approvals.
01.10.2020 • News
AkzoNobel Ups Como Coatings Capacity
Paints and coatings group AkzoNobel is investing €20 million to expand capacity for automotive powder coatings at its site in Como, Italy. The company said the project will strengthen its market position and sharpen its focus on greener manufacturing.
01.10.2020 • News
Saudi Groups Start Merger Discussions
Resurrecting plans from nine years ago, National Petrochemical (Petrochem) and Saudi Industrial Investment Group (SIIG) have initiated discussions about the economic feasibility of a merger.
01.10.2020 • News
BASF Completes Construction Chemicals Sale
BASF completed the sale of its construction chemicals business to an affiliate of private equity investor Lone Star on the last day of September and the 2020 third quarter. Selling price was €3.17 billion.
30.09.2020 • News
Hexion Sells Resins Businesses to Private Equity
Hexion has agreed to sell its phenolic specialty resin, hexamine and European-based forest products resins businesses to private equity investors Investindustrial and Black Diamond Capital Management for approximately $425 million.
30.09.2020 • News
Sanofi Completes Principia Acquisition
French drugmaker Sanofi has completed its acquisition of US-based Principia Biopharma for $100 per share in cash. The takeover worth altogether $3.7 billion was sealed following expiration of the tender offer for all of Principia’s shares on Sept. 25.
30.09.2020 • News
Merck Serono Wins Patent Dispute With Biogen
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Sept. 28 set aside a decision of the US district court of New Jersey in Newark, reversing the district court’s earlier decision in favor of Biogen in a damages claim against Germany’s Merck Serono (known as EMD Serono in North America).
29.09.2020 • News
Messer Plans Spanish Gases Plant
German family owned industrial gases group Messer has announced plans to invest more than €35 million in a new plant in Vilaseca, Spain, which it said will lay down the foundation for further growth in Western Europe.
29.09.2020 • News
WeylChem Appoints Johannes Kanellakopoulos as Head of Marketing & Sales Custom Manufacturing
WeylChem has appointed Johannes Kanellakopoulos as new Head of Marketing & Sales for its growing Custom Manufacturing business. He took over the role on Sept. 1 with the aim of fully exploiting the group's capabilities.
29.09.2020 • News
Scientists Urge Pfizer to Take Time With Vaccine
Only a few weeks ago, the race to bring Covid-19 vaccines was in high gear. Now some think the pace should be slower, amid AstraZeneca’s much commentated adverse event during its UK Phase 3 trial and US president Donald Trump’s haste to have a vaccine ready for deployment before the Nov.3 US elections.
29.09.2020 • News
Brenntag Splits into Two Divisions
Following an analysis of its internal structures and processes earlier this year, Brenntag will establish a new operating model with effect from January 2021, launching two global divisions – Brenntag Essentials and Brenntag Specialties.
28.09.2020 • News
Solvay Adapts European Peroxides Footprint
Solvay has announced it will reshuffle its hydrogen peroxide manufacturing network in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to meet a shift in demand, which has been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.
25.09.2020 • News
Air Liquide Builds China Gases Plant
French industrial gases group Air Liquide is spending about €60 million to build an air separation unit (ASU) in the Lingang Economic District, Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone, China. Air Liquide said it has been supplying industrial gases to this major industrial basin for more than 25 years and already operates seven production facilities there.
25.09.2020 • News
Polyplastics Plans German Polymers Plant
Japanese engineering plastics specialist Polyplastics has announced plans to build a cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) production plant in Leuna, Germany, to meet growing global demand for its Topas COC polymers.
25.09.2020 • News
Trump Says he Could Override FDA Vaccine Standards
US president Donald Trump has said he believes the White House could override the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) if the national health watchdog goes ahead with mooted plans to toughen standards for approval of a Covid-19 vaccine or an Emergency Use Authorization.
24.09.2020 • News
Sanofi/GSK and Moderna Seal Vaccine Supply in Canada
Both the Sanofi/GlaxoSmithKline partnership and US vaccine producer Moderna this week announced new advance purchase agreements with Canada for their Covid-19 vaccine candidates.
24.09.2020 • News
Ineos Buys Renewable Electricity for Belgian Site
Olefins and polyolfins giant Ineos has signed an agreement to buy electricity from Belgian utility Engie’s Norther offshore wind farm in Belgium over a 10-year period. The contract is the largest ever-purchase contract of wind energy for heavy industry in Belgium, the Swiss-headquartered group said.
24.09.2020 • News
Evonik and Siemens Commission Photosynthesis Pilot
Evonik and Siemens Energy have commissioned a pilot plant that uses carbon dioxide (CO2) and water to produce chemicals. The plant is the culmination of two years’ work under the Rheticus I and II research projects to develop a technically feasible foundation for artificial photosynthesis using a bioreactor and electrolyzers.
23.09.2020 • News
Oqema Sets up new Distribution Partnership with Solvay
Global chemical company Solvay and specialty chemicals distributor Oqema have entered into a distribution partnership for phenol and phenol derivatives. The partnership covers Solvay’s products hydroquinone, methylhydroquinone, TBC and PTZ for the monomers market, alongside other phenol derivatives for the agrochemicals and pharma markets.
23.09.2020 • News
IMCD Takes Finland’s Kokko-Fiber
In its third purchase so far this month, IMCD has bought Kokko-Fiber, a Finnish supplier of fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composite materials. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Earlier this month, IMCD also purchased Siyeza in South Africa and Indian excipients distributor Signet.
23.09.2020 • News
FDA may Issue Tougher EUA Standards
Amid worries in the American public that an unsafe vaccine could be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration just in time for the Nov. 3 election, the FDA reportedly will impose new, tougher, standards for an emergency authorization (EUA) of a coronavirus vaccine.
23.09.2020 • News
OQ Chemicals Licenses Technologies to Duqm
OQ Chemicals – formerly Oxea – has agreed to license its proprietary technology for the production of ethylene and propylene derivatives to Oman’s Duqm Refinery and Petrochemicals Industries Company (DRPIC).
22.09.2020 • News
Clariant Builds China Catalyst Plant
Clariant has announced it will build a new catalyst plant in China, its third in the country, as the Swiss group strives to strengthen its existing network.
22.09.2020 • News
Sanofi and GSK Ink EU Vaccine Deal
Sanofi and GSK have agreed a deal with the EU to supply up to 300 million doses of their recombinant protein-based Covd-19 vaccine pending regulatory approval, which is expected sometime in the first half of 2021.
22.09.2020 • News
BioNTech Acquiring Novartis’ Marburg Site
German biotech BioNTech has signed a share purchase agreement with Novartis to acquire the Swiss drugmaker’s GMP-certified manufacturing facility in Marburg, Germany. The deal will expand the Mainz-based company’s Covid-19 vaccine production capability by up to 750 million doses per year, or over 60 million doses per month, when fully operational.
21.09.2020 • News
Mylan Buys Aspen’s European Thrombosis Assets
Mylan has agreed to buy the related intellectual property and commercialization rights of Aspen Pharmacare’s European thrombosis business for €641.9 million. The company will use proceeds from the sale to pay down debt.
