Informex News

Chiral Quest and Avantium Technologies have entered into a partnership to utilise Chiral Quest's array of novel chiral ligand catalysts in Avantium's high throughput experimentation and simulation technology.

'We are very pleased to enter this partnetship with Avantium,' said Chiral Quest ceo, Alan Roth. 'Avantium's decision is a vote of confidence in the value of our products.'

Hickson & Welch, makers and suppliers of organic chemicals has changed its name to "C6 solutions", following its $38m acquisition by Dunedin Capital Partners and the current management team late last year.

Speaking at the Informex launch of the company, chief executive John Markham, said: 'With the change of identity we indend to better reposition the company to reflect the markets we serve.'

C6 is formally launched at Informex with new identity, brochures, and website.

UK-based Pentagon Chemicals has officially announced that it has acquired Great Lakes Fine Chemicals business. The company will trade as Pentagon Fine Chemicals. Alistair Lloyd, Pentagon's sales and marketing director said: 'This opportunity secures all of the strategic needs of our business.'

Biocatalytics, based in Pasedena, CA, has launched two new chiral intermediates, L-cyclopentylglycine and D-allo-isoleucine, that are part of the non-natural amino acids, essential pharmaceutical building blocks.

Dr Peter Nagler, president of Degussa's Exclusive Synthesis and Catalysts business unit, was in an upbeat mood at a press conference held on the first day of Informex. He said: 'More than ever before, customers are seeking fast and efficient solutions for their businesses, and our response is to focus on our customers' requirements. We continue to invest in innovation because it helps our customers. Our goal is to make it easy for people to do business with us.' Degussa has launched a website: 'degussa4pharma.com' to help this process.

However, Nagler did have one warning. 'There is overcapacity in the fine chemical business already, and companies are turning to biologics. However, the problem with this is that you may well have overcapacity here in a couple of years' time, and that will be much more expensive, because the plants are more expensive to build.'

Codexis, the US provider of biocatalysis and fermentation processes has announced that it is to double the size of its current bioprocess facility, with a multi-million dollar investment and expansion.

Located at its Redwood, CA, facility the new scale-up and launch centre will total 6,000² and include a 650 litre fermentation unit, supported by additional microbiology, biochemistry and process development labs.