Following negotiations begun in September 2021, PharmaZell, a German-based supplier of speciality APIs, and Novasep, a CDMO focused on complex small molecules and ADCs, have closed their merger under the majority ownership of Bridgepoint Group. Former PharmaZell CEO Dr Sylke Hassel (pictured) will be CEO, while former Novasep CEO Michel Spagnol has joined the board of directors.
Perstorp plans to roughly double its carboxylic acids capacity by 2024, by adding a second 70,000 tonnes/year facility at its main site in Stenungsund, Sweden. Like the original unit, this will produce acids from C3 to C9 chemistry and will be fully integrated into the company’s oxo production platform.
In collaboration with Johannes Kepler University Linz, Heraeus Precious Metals has developed and applied for a patent on an industrial precious metal catalyst for efficient lignin conversion. This is described as “highly suitable for the conversion of lignin to phenolic components on an industrial scale”.
Japan’s AGC has announced plans for a new, 7,500 m2 building at the site of its AGC Pharma Chemicals Europe CDMO operation in Spain. Costing about $100 million, this is scheduled to begin operation in 1H 2024 and will add 30% to the site’s capacity. This comes on top of a 30% increase in capacity announced in April 2020.
The WeylChem Group has officially put a new multi-purpose custom manufacturing plant into operation at Lamotte in the Hauts-de-France region of France. This investment of around €7 million “strengthens our position as a versatile, high-quality partner with reliable European supply chains”, according to company president Uwe Brunk.
Thailand’s Indorama Ventures (IVL) has completed its acquisition of 100% of Brazil-based Oxiteno from Ultrapar Participações, following approval by Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defence. IVL said that the deal, first announced in August 2021, makes it “the leading surfactants producer in the Americas, with additional potential to expand in Europe and Asia”.
Sanofi has announced that newly established API manufacturer EuroAPI will begin trading on the Euronext Paris on 6 May, subject to shareholder approval at a meeting three days before. Following this, EuroAPI will operate independently.
“This important step towards our listing is a key milestone for EuroAPI and is part of the deployment of our strategy and our independence from Sanofi,” said CEO Karl Rotthier.
