Degussa follows its peers in the speciality chemicals industry by
posting weak interim results held back by currency factors, raw
material costs and lower demand.
BASF, the world's largest chemicals company, has said that it will
expand an ongoing restructuring program in North America after
reporting lower-than-expected second-quarter sales and profits.
Bayer has reported a decline in net profits for the second quarter
of 2003, with analysts expressing concerns that litigations costs
could hold back full-year earnings.
Italy's Recordati has said that it plans to sell off its
pharmaceutical chemical activities over the next few months in
order to concentrate on pharmaceuticals.
KS Biomedix has confirmed that it is in negotiations that may lead
to a merger and add to the mini-wave of consolidation sweeping over
the UK industry.
The difficulties facing Lonza came into clear focus today as the
company published its half-year results, with sales down across its
custom manufacturing, organic chemicals and polymers businesses.
Chemical major BASF has expanded the range of products it offers to
pharmaceutical clients with the $65 million (€58m) purchase of
Callery Chemical from Mine Safety Appliances.
Danish pharmaceutical companies increased their sales to overseas
countries by 20 per cent in the first four months of this year
compared with the same period of 2002, according to Invest In
Denmark.
DSM has taken a 25 per cent interest in Nijmegen, Netherlands-based
Chiralix in move which both expands DSM's capabilities in
early-stage drug development and Chiralix' position in
stereochemistry
Italian drug delivery specialist Eurand has made a foray into the
market for fast-melt oral tablets that dissolve quickly in the
mouth without chewing or the need for water.
DSM Biologics has dissolved its relationship with Qiagen and
Valentis regarding the pAlliance, a consortium supplying
ultra-pure, stable DNA plasmids and formulated DNA
ConjuChem, a company specialised in improving the formulation of
peptide drugs, has said that it is aiming to raise around C$12
million (€7.6m) in a new private placement round
Germany's Chiracon, a specialist in novel raw and starting
materials for high-value pharmaceuticals, has joined the circle of
Startup-Partners, the central capital marketing agency for Berlin.
Isis Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly say they have reached a mutually
beneficial renegotiation of their manufacturing relationship for
cancer drug Affinitak
Baxter Healthcare of the US says it is planning a seven-year, $100
million (€85m) expansion of its parenteral contract manufacturing
services for pharma and biotech companies.
Aldo Magnini has been appointed managing director of Clariant's
pharmaceuticals ingredients manufacturing business in Italy, based
around the company's two manufacturing plants in Origgio and Isso.
Switzerland's Solvias AG, a specialist in scientific and technical
services and products based on synthesis and analysis, has reported
a healthy 20 per cent hike in 2002 sales to SF43.6 million
(€28.6m). The increase was driven...
Swiss intermediates and fine chemical company Lonza said today it
is to cut around 500 jobs mainly in Europe and the US as part of a
restructuring programme to reduce the negative effects of the
current economy on most of its business...
Netherlands-based drugs, coatings and chemical maker Akzo Nobel has
announced a €500 million divestment program and suggested that it
is unlikely to remain a player in all three of these sectors in the
long term.
Dutch life sciences company DSM has broken ground on a new site in
Montreal, Canada, set to become a large-scale biopharmaceuticals
plant. Phase one - at a cost of €100m - due for completion by 2005.
In the US this week, supplier of botanical extracts for the
pharmaceutical industry Pharmachem Laboratories announced that it
has acquired 'the largest botanical extraction facility in North
America, producing extracts for the...
Despite a testing global economic climate, sales remained steady
and earnings before interest and taxes rose for German speciality
chemicals company Degussa in the first quarter of 2003. But guarded
optimism remains for 2003.
US zuChem, a development-stage company that focuses on
commercialising manufacturing processes for glycochemicals, has
raised a considerable chunk of capital. Funds earmarked for
development of new sugar-based pharmaceutical intermediates.
In a bid to improve efficiency and reduce costs UK in vitro
diagnostics company Axis-Shield is to shift the manufacture of
certain products from its site in Oslo, Norway to the company's
global headquarters in Dundee, Scotland.
Operating profit for Danish enzyme company Novozymes improved
marginally in the first quarter of 2003, despite the impact of
unfavourable exchange rates. On the back of favourable developments
in net financials, the company reports...
Balchem reported a small rise in net sales, up 3 per cent overall
during the first quarter of 2003, but said it was pleased with
results in light of the continued difficult economic environment.
Net earnings at the New York-based...
Paris, France-based speciality chemicals company Rhodia has
reported a disappointing set of first quarter figures that reflects
what the firm describes as "a difficult economic and geopolitical
environment" and "a trough...
Danish biotech company Fluxome Sciences , based at the Technical
University of Denmark, has entered a cooperation agreement with the
US biotech company Bio-Technical Resources concerning development
of optimised fermentation processes,...
The global economic downturn marked 2003 first quarter results for
Dutch based life science company DSM but strong autonomous volume
growth boosted figures to higher than 2002.
Strasbourg, France-based Aventis has announced its intention to
sell off part of its remaining stake in Rhodia, its loss-making
former specialty chemicals subsidiary. The move reduces its stake
in Rhodia to 15.3 per cent from 25.2...
US company PPD is taking a stake in Chemokine Therapeutics, a
Canadian- and US-based biotechnology company, to continue
development of a proprietary peptide derived from a particular
chemokine that may make the peptide useful as a...
UK biotechnology bellwether Celltech has emerged victorious in the
bidding battle for Oxford GlycoSciences. OGS reluctantly gave in to
Celltech's pressure on 11 April, after the latter firm bought
additional holdings which brought...
Dutch life science company DSM reported this week that on Tuesday
three people were killed following an explosion at its Melamine
Plant 2 in Geleen, the Netherlands.
Life science company Chiral Quest this week announced that the
non-profit organisation, the Penn State Research Foundation, has
received a US patent covering the compositions of matter and use
for a series of chiral phosphine ligands...
Shareholders at Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche welcomed the
start of a new era as the company summarised recent events,
including the divestment of the vitamins business, at its annual
general meeting yesterday.
The bulk of biotech companies are firmly rooted towards the foot of
the ladder of corporate evolution. Precious few can realistically
claim to be at the top end of the evolutionary scale with full
R&D capabilities, global reach...
GlaxoSmithKline has entered into a new drug formulation agreement
with Flamel Technologies of France that could see the latter firm
receive up to $45 million (€41.3m) in licensing fees and milestone
payments.
Dow Chemical has agreed for Dowpharma, Dow's pharmaceutical
manufacturing services business unit, to supply select, proprietary
oligonucleotides to Montreal, Canada-based Topigen Pharmaceuticals
for use in its pharmaceutical...
Akzo Nobel has opened a new powder coatings factory in Ho Chi Minh
City, Vietnam in partnership with Chang Cheng Securities, marking
the 12th powder coatings site in the Asia Pacific region for the
company.
Swiss life-science company Lonza announced on Tuesday that it is to
strengthen the production of oligonucleotides - an emerging new
class of therapeutics consisting of short nucleic acid chains
interfering in the processing of genetic...
