Chemistry and Industry back issues from January 2007:
Chimeric embryos.(UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... As C&I went to press, scientists were expecting the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to reject their applications for work involving hybrid embryos. As part of stem cell research, scientists from Newcastle University, Edinburgh University and Kings College London want to ...
It always tastes the same.(edibility of cloned animal products)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Products based on cloned animals are unlikely to grace supermarket shelves anytime soon, despite a report by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that they are safe to eat. The FDA reviewed hundreds of peer-reviewed studies on cloned animals and concluded that cattle, pig and goat ...
Study set to investigate statin-Parkinson's link?(Clinical trial)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Preliminary results from a US study suggest a link between low 'bad' or LDL cholesterol and Parkinson's disease, which could have implications for LDL-lowering drugs like statins. The researchers are so concerned by the possibility of a statin effect that they plan large-scale trials to ...
Russia's year-long campaign of disruption pays off for Gazprom.(Natural gas)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom looks set to have a very Happy New Year as it takes control of the lucrative Sakhalin-2 natural gas project after a piece of realpolitik which one energy analyst described as a piece of 'old-fashioned geopolitical hardball'. Gazprom ...
ICI takeover imminent?
Jan 15, 2007 ... As C&I went to press, Dutch coatings and chemicals company Akzo Nobel (Arnhem) was rumoured to be looking to buy UK-based coatings and specialty chemicals business ICI (London). ICI became a possible takeover target following the sale of its fragrance and flavours business Quest in late ...
World's largest licensing deal.(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and antibody firm Genmab have entered into what is the world's largest licensing deal to date. The deal, which could total $2.1bn, illustrates just how much big pharma is willing to pay for a biotech future. Under the terms of the deal, GSK will pay Genmab ...
UK could lead the way in wind power.(Alternative energy)(windpower generation plants, London Array, Thanet scheme)
Jan 15, 2007; ... The world's largest offshore wind farm is to be built in the UK, which could see the country at the forefront of a revolution in alternative energy. The offshore wind farm will consist of two developments, the London Array, 20km from shore in the outer Thames estuary and the ...
ExxonMobil's smoke screen.(Climate change)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Claims of ExxonMobil's involvement in delaying action on climate change have been raised again by the US Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) (Cambridge, Massachusetts). The report, Smoke, Mirrors & Hot Air, claims to be the most comprehensive to date on how ExxonMobil has used the tobacco ...
Green plastic is fantastic.(Semiconductors)
Jan 15, 2007; ... The world's first fully commercial plastics electronics production facility is to be built in Dresden, Germany. The plant will produce semiconductors using plastic rather than silicon, a move that will make semiconductors greener and cheaper, according to Plastic Logic, the company ...
BASF undergoes restructuring.(Construction chemicals)(Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik )(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... BASF has further integrated the construction chemicals business acquired from Degussa in July 2006, which was initially placed in the newly formed Construction Chemicals division (C&I 2006, 22, 20). This division has been reorganised into five regional businesses: Construction Systems ...
Production of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) has restarted at Bayer MaterialScience's largest production line in Baytown, Texas.(Business briefs)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Production of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) has restarted at Bayer MaterialScience's largest production line in Baytown, Texas. Force majeure, in operation since an ...
Syngenta (Basel, Switzerland) and Diversa (San Diego, California) have signed a 10-year R&D partnership to develop enzymes to convert pre-treated cellulosic biomass into mixed sugars for biofuel production.(Business briefs)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Syngenta (Basel, Switzerland) and Diversa (San Diego, California) have signed a 10-year R&D partnership to develop enzymes to convert pretreated cellulosic ...
US cellulosic biomass process technology developer Mascoma (Cambridge, Massachusetts) has received a $14.8m award.(Business briefs)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... US cellulosic biomass process technology developer Mascoma (Cambridge, Massachusetts) has received a $14.8m award from the New York State Department of Agriculture ...
On the first day of the new US Democratic Congress the Biofuels Security Act 2007 was introduced.(Business briefs)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... On the first day of the new US Democratic Congress the Biofuels Security Act 2007 was introduced, increasing the renewable fuels standard to ...
German biodiesel producer Petrotec is to build a 100 000 t/year biodiesel plant using waste edible oil as feedstock in Emden, Germany.(Business briefs)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... German biodiesel producer Petrotec is to build a 100 000 t/year biodiesel plant using waste edible oil as feedstock in Emden, Germany. ...
Lilly settles over Zyprexa.(Pharma briefs)(Eli Lilly and Co.)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Eli Lilly is to settle more than 18 000 product liability claims against its lead product, the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa (olanzapine) for schizophrenia and manic depression. The lawsuits mainly revolve around a warning linking the drug with diabetes not being adequately displayed in the ...
Herceptin saves lifes.(Pharma briefs)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Giving Herceptin (trastuzumab) to women with HER2-receptor positive breast cancer for one year following chemotherapy may improve survival (The Lancet 2007, 369, 29). In the Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) study, Herceptin, a monoclonal antibody, was assessed on overall survival after two years ...
Pharma profits threat.(Patents)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Two scientists are pioneering a new model to produce cheap and effective drugs for the poorest countries without infringing pharmaceutical patents; a development that some say could threaten big pharma's profits. Sunil Shaunak and Steve Brocchini, researchers at Imperial College ...
More patent woes for AstraZeneca.(News)
Jan 15, 2007 ... AstraZeneca has had its substance patent for Nexium, its biggest selling drug, successfully challenged on appeal by a German generics manufacturer. Ratiopharm challenged the patent on the basis that it wasn't novel enough. The European Patent Office has not yet said why it ruled ...
Diets start with a bang(er).(Reduced-fat sausages)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... One of Britain's favourite meals, bangers and mash, could make a surprising appearance in New Year diets. New reduced-fat sausages containing orange peel, would not only have less calories than conventional sausages, but could provide the health benefits of the fruit, the fibre of which ...
Search heats up for the perfect insulator.(Thermal conductivity)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Some materials are essentially perfect insulators for electricity, but no material has ever been discovered that is a perfect insulator for heat. Now, a team of collaborators in the US has developed a new insulation material that is the closest thing that anyone has found to making a dense ...
Galapagos buys ProSkelia.(Drug discovery)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Belgian drug discovery company Galapagos (Mechelen) is on the acquisition trail. Following its acquisition of Inpharmatica in late 2006 (C&I 2006, 24, 14), the company has acquired ProSkelia SASU (Romainville, near Paris), the French subsidiary of the UK-based ProStrakan Group. ...
Nanodelivery for liver drug.(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Specialty pharmaceutical firm BioAlliance Pharma SA (Paris) has announced a phase II/III trial to measure the efficacy and tolerance of its primary liver cancer treatment, doxorubicin Transdrug (R). Although doxombicin is a relatively common drug, the company has formulated it in ...
PPIs raise hip fracture risk.(proton pump inhibitors)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... People over fifty years old taking heart-burn drugs like Nexium, Zoton or Protonix could be at an increased risk of hip fractures. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in the US examined 15 000 patient records from the UK General Practice Research Database. More than a year's ...
Cloud with a silver lining.(Polyphenols)(cloudy apple juice )(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... If your New Year's resolution is to be healthier, switching to cloudy apple juice could help. Scientists have shown that cloudy apple juice is four times healthier than its clear counterpart. A team led by Jan Oszmianski at the Agricultural University of Wroclaw, Poland, found ...
The art of the perfecto espresso.(Food technology)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Feeling dazed after the holiday season? Not a problem--scientists in Spain have worked out the precise chemical conditions for the perfect cup of espresso. Susana Andueza and her team at the University of Navarra compared various coffee/water ratios in the percolation process of ...
A vit D key to the big C: with deaths from prostate cancer set to soar, several companies are searching for the answer in vitamin D. And one US biotech company looks well placed to be the first to market.(News Feature)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Prostate cancer is already the most commonly diagnosed cancer in western men and the second leading cause of cancer death in men. The incidence of the disease is expected to soar as the baby boomer generation ages, with diagnoses and deaths more than doubling in the next 20 years. But for ...
German chemicals and pharma major Bayer (Leverkusen) has completed the 4.2bn [euro] divestment.(Business Digest)
Jan 15, 2007; ... German chemicals and pharma major Bayer (Leverkusen) has completed ...
French chemical major Rhodia (Paris) has sold its European industrial fibres business.(Business Digest)
Jan 15, 2007; ... French chemical major Rhodia (Paris) has sold its European ...
German-based investment group International Chemical Investors (Frankfurt) has acquired German custom synthesis business Synthacon, which has two sites in Frankfurt and Leuna.(Business Digest)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... German-based investment group International Chemical Investors (Frankfurt) has acquired German custom synthesis business Synthacon, which has two sites in Frankfurt and ...
Swiss pharma concern Novartis (Basel) is selling its medical nutrition business unit, located in Gland, Switzerland, to Nestle (Vevey, Switzerland) for $2.5bn.(Business Digest)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Swiss pharma concern Novartis (Basel) is selling its medical nutrition business unit, located in Gland, Switzerland, to Nestle (Vevey, Switzerland) ...
US healthcare major Abbott (Abbott Park, Illinois) has completed the $2.9bn acquisition of US specialty pharma concern Kos Pharmaceuticals.(Business Digest)(Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, Illinois))(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... US healthcare major Abbott (Abbott Park, Illinois) has completed the $2.9bn acquisition of US specialty pharma concern Kos ...
Central European oil and gas group OMV (Vienna, Austria) and its core shareholder International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) (Abu Dhabi) are to consolidate melamine and plant nutrients producer AMI Agrolinz Melamine International (Linz, Austria), in which they each have a 50% holding into polyolefins producer Borealis (Vienna, Austria).(Business Digest)(Agrolinz Melamine International )(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Central European oil and gas group OMV (Vienna, Austria) and its core shareholder International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) (Abu Dhabi) are to consolidate melamine and plant nutrients producer AMI Agrolinz Melamine ...
Dow Chemical (Midland, Michigan) has acquired German major Bayer's Wolff Walsrode cellulosic derivatives group for an undisclosed sum.(Business Digest)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Dow Chemical (Midland, Michigan) has acquired German major Bayer's Wolff Walsrode cellulosic derivatives group for an undisclosed sum. The transaction, which ...
US specialty chemicals producer Chemtura (Middlebury, Connecticut) is acquiring Kaufman Holdings (Fords, New Jersey).(Business Digest)
Jan 15, 2007; ... US specialty chemicals producer Chemtura (Middlebury, Connecticut) is acquiring Kaufman Holdings (Fords, New Jersey). Kaufman comprises two operating companies: Hatco, a producer of polyol esters for synthetic lubricant production, and ...
Polyolefin producer Basell has purchased the cracker at the Munchsmunster petrochemical site in Germany from Ruhr Oel, the joint venture between Deutsche BP and Venzuelan state-owned oil company PdVSA.(Business Digest)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Polyolefin producer Basell has purchased the cracker at the Munchsmunster petrochemical site in Germany from Ruhr Oel, the joint venture between Deutsche BP and Venzuelan state-owned oil ...
Carus Phosphates, a subsidiary of US-based permanganate producer Carus (Peru, Illinois), has acquired US phosphates producer CalciQuest (Belmont, North Carolina).(Business Digest)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Carus Phosphates, a subsidiary of US-based permanganate producer Carus (Peru, Illinois), has acquired US phosphates producer CalciQuest (Belmont, North Carolina). German specialty chemicals business Lanxess (Leverkusen) has taken full control of leather tanning chemicals producer Chrome ...
US pharma major Eli Lilly (Indianapolis, Indiana) has amended its merger agreement with US drug discoverer and contract manufacturer ICOS (Bothell, Washington), the developer of erectile dysfunction treatment Cialis.(Business Digest)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... US pharma major Eli Lilly (Indianapolis, Indiana) has amended its merger agreement with US drug discoverer and contract ...
German specialty chemicals company Degussa has divested its industrial chemicals business through a management buyout.(Business Digest)
Jan 15, 2007; ... German specialty chemicals company Degussa has divested its industrial chemicals business through a management buyout. The managing director of Goldschmidt (Mannheim) Karsten Tieman has taken ...
BASF Catalysts, the subsidiary of German chemical major BASF (Ludwigshafen) formed through its purchase of Engelhard in 2006, is acquiring a Chinese manufacturer of motorcycle catalysts, Guilin REECat Catalyst based in Guilin (C&I 2006, 24, 23).(Business Digest)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... BASF Catalysts, the subsidiary of German chemical major BASF (Ludwigshafen) formed through its purchase of Engelhard in 2006, is acquiring a Chinese ...
BASF Future Business, a subsidiary of German chemical major BASF, is acquiring fuel cell components supplier PEMEAS (Frankfurt, Germany) from a group of seven investors.(Business Digest)
Jan 15, 2007; ... BASF Future Business, a subsidiary of German chemical major BASF, is acquiring fuel cell components supplier PEMEAS (Frankfurt, Germany) from a group of seven ...
Finnish paints and coatings business Tikkurila, a subsidiary of Kemira (Helsinki) is acquiring a 70% share of two Russian paint companies based in St Petersburg: 000 Gama and 000 Ohtinski zavod poroshkovyh krasok with negotiations scheduled for completion by the end of January 2007.(Business Digest)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Finnish paints and coatings business Tikkurila, a subsidiary of Kemira (Helsinki) is acquiring a 70% share of two Russian paint companies based in St Petersburg: 000 Gama and 000 Ohtinski zavod poroshkovyh krasok with negotiations ...
Bayer CropScience has acquired two US cotton seed businesses: California Planting Cotton Seed Distributors (Bakersfield, California) and Reliance Genetics LLC (Harlingen, Texas).(Business Digest)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Bayer CropScience has acquired two US cotton seed businesses: California Planting Cotton Seed Distributors ...
ICI.(Projects & Technology)(Imperial Chemical Industries PLC builds a new facility )(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... ICI is building a second emulsion polymerisation facility in China in the Songjiang Industrial Development Zone in Shanghai. The $20m 45 ...
BASF.(Projects & Technology)(expansion of diphenylmethane diisocyanate facility)(Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik )(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... BASF is expanding its diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) facility at Antwerp, Belgium with an increase in capacity from 450 000 to 560 000 t/year in Q2 2007. Two ...
BASF's Seal Sand site.(Safety & Environment)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007; ... A total of 37 people including 17 employees and alliance partners were affected by a leak of hexamethylenediamine (HMD), on the morning of 4 January 2007, at BASF's Seal Sands site, Teesside. Fifteen people were taken to ...
Takeaway heaven.(Patents)(E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. develops new packaging material)(Abstract)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Soggy takeaways could be a thing of the past with the invention of a packaging material that can keep food both dry and warm. Du Pont in the US has developed a multi-layer packaging system to supersede present takeaway packaging. Currently, takeaway packaging technologies rely ...
Dirty water.(Patents)(Terreco BV)(Abstract)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Treating contaminated groundwater could become easier and more efficient with the creation of a new process that uses bacteria to remove pollutants from the soil and water. Dutch company Terreco built its apparatus to reduce the waste and amount of contaminated soil produced ...
Sticky solution.(Patents)(Celanese Americas Corp. develops a new glue )(Abstract)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... The heat produced when making vinegar for your chips could now be recycled to make the chemicals to create wood glue for your furniture. Celanese in the US has created a way to transfer the heat produced by the production of acetic acid and funnel it into vinyl acetate ...
Doctor sunshine.(Patents)(Abstract)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... A dose of light could be just what the doctor ordered to ensure that blood products are free of viruses and bacteria. US biotech company Navigant Biotechnologies has developed a method of substantially cutting pathogen numbers in blood samples using electromagnetic ...
At Syngenta, Bruce Bissell, head of global operations, and David Jones, head of business development, both members of the executive committee, are retiring at the end of February.(Movers & Shakers)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... At Syngenta, Bruce Bissell, head of global operations, and David Jones, head of business development, both members of the executive committee, are retiring at the end of February. Robert Berendes, formerly head of diverse field ...
Simon Marsh, director of communications and employment relations.(Movers & Shakers)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Simon Marsh, director of communications and employment relations, UK Chemical Industries Association, has been elected chair of the European Chemical ...
Emmanuel Martin has been named as director, sales and marketing, genetic research services at French based Intragen.(Movers & Shakers)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Emmanuel Martin has been named as director, sales and marketing, genetic research services at French based Intragen ....
Mary Jane Rafili has joined US cancer treatment developer Bioenvision as vice president, regulatory affairs.(Movers & Shakers)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Mary Jane Rafili has joined US cancer treatment developer Bioenvision as vice president, regulatory affairs. Most recently, Rafili was head of ...
Xceleron, the US/UK developer of analysis techniques for accelerated drug development has added two new members to its scientific advisory board: Richard Jones and Roy Bullingham.(Movers & Shakers)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Xceleron, the US/UK developer of analysis techniques for accelerated drug development has added two new members to its scientific advisory board: Richard Jones and Roy Bullingham. Jones is currently senior vice president, experimental medicine and clinical and regulatory affairs at ...
Jean-Piere Riffaud has joined US biotech concern Quantum Genomics as head of preclinical development.(Movers & Shakers)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Jean-Piere Riffaud has joined US biotech concern Quantum Genomics as head of preclinical development. Riffaud was previously in charge of ...
Richard Palmer has stepped down as ceo after leading Alizyme's development over the last ten years.(Movers & Shakers)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Richard Palmer has stepped down as ceo after leading Alizyme's development over the last ten years. He will continue to support the company as a consultant. Tim McCarthy, who ...
Thierry Powis has been named president director, Schering-Plough Indonesia, reporting to Ashley Morris, area director, South Asia.(Movers & Shakers)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Thierry Powis has been named president director, Schering-Plough Indonesia, reporting to Ashley Morris, area director, South Asia. Powis has ...
Alex Markham is to step down as chief executive, Cancer Research UK, in the spring.(Movers & Shakers)(Brief article)
Jan 15, 2007 ... Alex Markham is to step down as chief executive, Cancer Research UK, in the spring. He is returning ...
Diary.(chemical industry)(Calendar)
Jan 15, 2007 ... 29-30 January: Global RFID ROI, ExCel, London, UK. Fifth annual summit meeting looking at radio frequency identification. Contact: Laurence Allen. Tel: +44 (0)20 7940 7066, e-mail: laurence.allen@worldtradeco.com, web: www.rfid-roi.com 21-22 February: HazardEx International, ...
Stem cell debate is vital for true progress: many therapies have been developed before we have understood their mode of actions, why should stem cell therapies be any different? asks David Macauley, ceo of the UK Stem Cell Foundation.(Comment)(UK Stem Cell Foundation)
Jan 15, 2007 ... THE MEDIA FURORE following the launch of the UK Stem Cell Foundation's first research project in November 2006 led to speculation over a divide within scientific and medical circles over how best to approach stem cell research. Nigel Hawkes at The Times, for instance, painted a picture of ...
Your shout for 2007: Cath O'Driscoll presents your predictions for the year ahead and finds that you are largely optimistic despite high energy prices and the continued growth of the Asian economies.(Forecast 2007)
Jan 15, 2007; ... At the end of last year we set you a challenge: to try to beat the analysts by letting us know your own thoughts and predictions for the industry for the year ahead. Nearly 300 of you responded, and here are the results. Compare and contrast these with what the experts are saying on pages ...
Slowdown in store: by Q4 of last year growth rates in the chemical industry across the world had started to peak. Sean Milmo looks at the impact of oil prices and a weak dollar on the year ahead.(Forecast 2007)(Statistical data)
Jan 15, 2007; ... The chemical industry in many parts of the world faces the prospects of a slowdown in growth this year after spurts of relatively fast increases in both output and sales in 2006. In the third quarter of 2006, for example, production shot up in some parts of Western Europe. In ...
Viva bio-Brazil: Brazil plans to double ethanol production in the next 10 years. The EU, by contrast, is struggling to lift the average market share of biofuels above 1%.(Biofuels)
Jan 15, 2007; ... A favourable climate, abundant sugar cane plantations, strong demand for flex-fuel vehicles and supportive government policies have made Brazil a global leader in biofuels. The country accounts for nearly 40% of the world's biofuels production and plans to more than double its sugar cane ...
Applied highlights.(Highlights)
Jan 15, 2007; ... Biotransformation of rice husk to nanocrystalline silica Naturally deposited amorphous biosilica in rice husk can be bioleached and simultaneously biotransformed into high-value crystalline silica nanoparticles--Scheme 1 (V Bansal, A Ahmad, M Sastry; J Am Chem Soc 2006, 128, ...