South African chemical producer Sasol has completed the sale of a 50% stake in its US base chemicals business at Lake Charles, Louisiana, to LyondellBasell following shareholder approval. The Johannesburg group’s shares initially rose 3% on the news.
In a move that was not on the world’s radar, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has become the first Western regulatory body to issue an Emergency Use Authorization EUA) for a Covid-19 vaccine, Pfizer-BioNTech’s BNT162b2 candidate.
US chemistry remains in demand around the world despite ongoing trade tensions and Covid-19. In 2019, the US chemical industry was one of the world’s largest exporters, at $136 billion. The industry has a large and growing trade surplus, reaching more than $35 billion in 2019.
While the focus of digitization in Europe and North America is on process efficiency and costs, the focus in Asia-Pacific is on market and customer access.
DSM has entered into a strategic partnership with Neste that will allow the Dutch health, nutrition and materials company to cut its carbon footprint and support the industry’s transition to a circular economy.
The WeylChem Group of Companies (WCGC) is planning to build a new production facility for aromatic ring chlorination at its site in Frankfurt, Germany’s Höchst chemical park. Start-up is expected in the first quarter of 2022.
On Nov. 30, US biotech Moderna became the second Covid-19 vaccine maker to apply to the Food and Drug Administration to grant an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its coronavirus vaccine. The filing follows that of the Pfizer-BioNTech team on Nov. 20.
Investment in the areas listed in the catalogue is supported by a variety of incentives.
It took just two hours for the board of UK specialty chemical company Elementis to reject a second takeover bid from Minerals Technologies.
Brazilian petrochemical giant Braskem and Danish catalysis and technology company Haldor Topsoe have announced they have achieved their first-ever production of bio-based MEG at demonstration scale.
After downsizing operations through divestments over the past year, Swiss specialty chemicals producer Clariant now plans to restructure its corporate organization to reflect the present leaner status and shift the emphasis of its portfolio to higher value-added products.
Solvay has agreed to sell its technical-grade barium and strontium business in Germany, Spain and Mexico, as well as its sodium percarbonate business In Germany to French private equity group Latour Capital. Financial terms of the deal, which is set to complete in the first quarter of 2021, were not disclosed.
Eli Lilly is wading into gene therapy, inking a deal with Precision BioSciences to develop in vivo gene therapies for three gene targets. The first target will be Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a disease caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene that prevent it from producing a protein of the same name. The other two have not been revealed.
Chinese biotech Sinovac has published data from the Phase 1/2 trial with its Covid-19 vaccine candidate in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases. The results are said to show that the candidate is capable of inducing a quick antibody response within four weeks of immunization if given in two doses at a 14-day interval.
Arkema plans to start up its 50% expansion of Kynar fluoropolymer capacity at Changshu, China, next month. First commercial volumes will be supplied starting January 2021, the French specialty chemicals group said.
Pfizer has completed the spin-off of its Upjohn Business and combined it with Mylan to form Viatris, which began trading on Nov. 17. On closure of the deal, Pfizer stockholders owned about 57% of the outstanding shares of Viatris common stock and Mylan shareholders owned roughly 43%.
Germany’s Wacker Chemie has signed a contract to manufacture the active substance for compatriot CureVac’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate CVnCoV. Under the terms, the biotech arm of the Munich-based chemical group will ramp up GMP production of the mRNA drug substance for the candidate at its Amsterdam site in the first half of 2021.
Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) are genuine transport and storage all-rounders with a variety of different uses in many different industries.
The Innovation Cup is an initiative for post-graduate students and young professionals in natural sciences, computer sciences, and business administration to attend a training program near Frankfurt, Germany.
A New York state Supreme Court hearing Johnson & Johnson’s appeal of a 2019 baby powder judgment has agreed to reduce a $325 million jury award by two-thirds to $120 million. It declined to throw out the entire claim case, however, saying there was evidence to suggest the company’s talc-based powder caused the plaintiff’s mesothelioma as charged.
Ineos Olefins and Polymers USA has agreed terms to buy Sasol’s 50% stake in their Gemini joint venture for $404 million, taking full ownership. The deal is scheduled to close by year end, contingent on financing.
AstraZeneca’s viral vector vaccine candidate for Covid-19, AZD1222, moved back into the spotlight again this week after giving up headlines recently to the mRNA candidates of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
Shell and plastics recycling company Nexus Fuels have entered into a supply agreement for pyrolysis liquid made from plastic waste.
Dutch clinical-stage drug firm Lead Pharma has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Swiss pharma giant Roche to develop oral small molecules for a broad range of immune-mediated diseases.
German privately owned drugmaker Böhringer Ingelheim has reached an agreement in principle to settle nearly 3,000 US lawsuits alleging that its Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) anticoagulant drug caused undisclosed bleeding risks. Most of the lawsuits have been filed in the judicial district of Hartford, Connecticut.
French industrial gases group Air Liquide has announced its intention to build two biomethane units in Italy.
BP and Ineos have separately launched clean hydrogen projects as moves toward cutting carbon emissions and meeting the zero carbon emissions targets set by the UN and national governments.
As planned, US drugmaker Pfizer and German biotech BioNTech filed an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) request with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate BNT162b2 on Nov. 20.
Swedish CDMO Recipharm and Medspray, a Dutch manufacturer of high-tech spray nozzles, are forming a joint venture to develop soft mist spray technology for pharmaceutical applications.
Reacting to recent growth in European domestic demand, Luxembourg-headquartered CordenPharma is expanding capacity for non-GMP peptides at its center of excellence for peptide process development and non-GMP manufacturing in Frankfurt, Germany.
UK specialty chemical company Croda has agreed to buy Spain’s Iberchem, marking its entry into the flavors and fragrances market. Croda will pay owner French investment group Eurazeo €820 million on a debt-free, cash-free basis.
The biotech industry in Italy is vital and is showing a constant growth, report by Assobiotec and ENEA documents.
Lummus Technology has formed a digital joint venture with TCG Digital, the flagship technology consulting and solutions company of US investment firm The Chatterjee Group.
German specialty chemicals producer Evonik says it is on track to complete the ongoing €400 million expansion of its PA 12 portfolio as planned, despite a few logistical challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic.
German biotech CureVac has signed a supply agreement with the European Commission to provide an initial 225 million doses of its mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine, with an option for another 180 million doses.
