Ube has agreed to acquire all of the shares of the CDMO and API manufacturer API Corporation (APIC) from its Japanese compatriot Mitsubishi Chemical. Terms were not disclosed.

APIC offers such CDMO services for small molecule drugs as synthetic route design, pilot manufacturing, investigational medical manufacturing and commercial production based on capabilities in both organic synthesis and biotechnology it has cultivated over many years. It also makes APIs and intermediates.

Following on from a decision last year to evaluate options to boost value, the board of Labcorp has authorised a spin-off of its clinical development business to shareholders through a tax-free transaction. This should be completed in 2H 2023.

LabCorp is expected to continue being publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the clinical development business should also be publicly listed. This will lead to the creation of two independent companies with “distinct strategic priorities, customer needs and value creation”, the company said:

WuXi AppTec has announced a plan to build a new R&D and manufacturing site in Singapore at a cost of up to $1.4 billion. It will be created in stages over the next ten years, depending on the company’s business needs.

The company added that the site will serve “a critical role in its global network across Asia, Europe and North America”. It ill include “laboratories and facilities that provide a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services” for the pharmaceutical industry.

Bachem, the world market leader in peptides, has automated and digitalised one of its core business processes, solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). The company describes this as the start of its journey to Industry 4.0. The process is described in detail on the company website (www.bachem.com/news/bachem-journey-to-industry-4-0/).

W. R. Grace & Co. has announced plans to expand its CDMO facility in South Haven, Michigan, by January 2024. It will add an 18 m³ multi-purpose glass-lined and stainless steel reactor train to two existing trains of the same size, as well as a Hastelloy centrifuge to facilitate product isolation.

Wacker Chemie has announced plans to invest “a double-digit million euro amount” on it the new Biotechnology Centre at its corporate research facility in Munich, which is due to be operational in 2024. CEO Christian Hartel said that building it “will allow us to concentrate and intensify our research activities in the area of biotechnology. The additional capacity we will create here will accelerate the growth of our life-sciences division.”

In the space of just over two weeks, Azelis, the world’s third largest chemical distributor, has made five acquisitions in four different regional markets. This followed up on two made the previous month as the company spreads its wings across the globe. All of the deals are expected to close in Q3.