Business digest: Chemistry industry updates

The Fleming Initiative, a partnership between Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust that brings together scientists, policymakers, clinicians, commercial partners and the public to provide equitable solutions to antimicrobial resistance at a global scale, plus major UK biopharma GSK, have announced six major new research programmes, called ‘Grand Challenges’ which harness some of the best scientific expertise and the latest technologies, including advanced AI, to find new ways to slow the progress of antimicrobial resistance. According to the recent (October 2025) WHO GLASS Report highlighting a worsening global AMR situation, around one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections were caused by bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Annual deaths associated with AMR are predicted to rise by 74.5% from 4.71m in 2021 to 8.22m in 2050.

The UK’s Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre, based at Heriot-Watt University, is embarking on a new strategic initiative, supported by £2m from UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, to continue its work in catalysing industrial decarbonisation to support clean industrial growth.

German chemical company Wacker and Chinese specialty silane producer and joint-venture partner SICO Performance Material have opened a new application development centre for organofunctional silanes in Jining, China. The 2,300m2 facility features several laboratories where high-performance additives for the plastics, coatings and adhesives industries will be developed.

Dutch compounds developer and manufacturer Compound Company has reached an agreement for the sale of 100% of its shares to Industrie Polieco, an Italian producer of piping systems, resins for coating and packaging, high-performance polymer compounds and chemically functionalised polymers for numerous industrial sectors, including automotive, medical, solar and construction.

Spanish integrated energy and petroleum company Moeve and US technology and manufacturing company Honeywell have expanded their collaboration to scale up production technologies of bio-based linear alkylbenzene (LAB), the raw material for making LAS (linear alkylbenzene sulfonate), the main surfactant in the production of commonly used household detergents.

US chemical company DuPont has held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Molykote specialty lubricants manufacturing plant in the Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province in East China. The unit is being built at the Yangtze River International Chemical Industrial Park in the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone and is expected to be operational by early 2027.

US food-processing and commodities-trading corporation ADM has started operations at a new carbon capture and storage project at its Columbus, Nebraska, corn processing complex, making the complex the largest bioethanol carbon capture facility in the world. The project leverages US energy infrastructure company Tallgrass’ Trailblazer pipeline to transport captured CO2 from ADM’s ethanol plant in Columbus to Tallgrass’ eastern Wyoming sequestration hub for safe, permanent storage deep underground. The Trailblazer pipeline, formerly a 400-mile natural gas transmission line can transport more than 10m t/year of CO2.

The King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, the largest medical research institution in Saudi Arabia, and Flagship Pioneering, a US life sciences venture capital company, have announced a partnership to conduct clinical trials of medicines in Saudi Arabia.

BioMed X, a German independent biomedical research institute, has launched a collaborative neuroscience research project with US pharma AbbVie. The focus of the new project is the development of Circuit-Based Model Systems of Anhedonia. Anhedonia, the diminished ability to experience pleasure, remains one of the most challenging and poorly treated symptoms of depression, as well as several other psychiatric conditions. Anhedonia involves a complex interplay of multiple neurotransmitter systems and interconnected brain regions, including the mesocorticolimbic pathway. The focus of this collaboration will be on the identification of specific mechanisms that underpin this debilitating symptom, using patient-derived data to validate mechanistic insights wherever possible.

Swiss generic and biosimilar medicines manufacturer Sandoz has announced the European launch of Wyost (denosumab 120mg) and Jubbonti (denosumab 60mg), which are among the first denosumab biosimilars to launch in Europe, and which are approved by the European Commission to treat all indications of the reference medicines, Xgeva and Prolia. Wyost is approved for the treatment of cancer-related bone disease and Jubbonti is approved to treat osteoporosis.

Swedish food packaging and processing company Tetra Pak has acquired Bioreactors.net, a Latvian company with close to three decades of experience in designing and manufacturing bioreactor systems. Bioreactors.net specialises in biomass and fermentation solutions with bioreactors that can produce a range of proteins and other products.

UK speciality chemicals and sustainable technologies company Johnson Matthey (JM) has opened its first hydrogen internal combustion engine (H2ICE) facility in Gothenburg, Sweden. JM has developed the £2.5m centre to strengthen its heavy-duty vehicle testing capabilities and to test emission control systems. H2ICE uses zero-carbon hydrogen fuel in tried-and-tested engine technology, presenting a viable path for decarbonising medium and heavy-duty transport, such as trucks and buses. The installation supports H2ICE engines up to 600kW (800hp).

SeaBeLife, a French biotech developing drug candidates intended to block cellular necrosis, has signed a joint development agreement with Unither Pharmaceuticals, a French pharmaceutical CDMO specialising in the development and manufacture of sterile single doses. The agreement will lead to the production of clinical and commercial batches of the topical ophthalmic formulation of the SBL03 drug candidate. SBL03 is intended to treat degenerative disorders of the retina such as geographic atrophy and dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Syensqo, a Belgian advanced materials and aerospace technology company, has formed a new supplier partnership. Syensqo’s composite and adhesive materials have been selected for UK aerospace manufacturer Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 aircraft, which is targeting certification in 2028 followed by entering commercial service. Syensqo’s materials will be integrated across the entire aircraft structure, providing the lightweight strength, structural efficiency and durability required for the high-cycle operations of electric vertical flight.

Danish pharma Novo Nordisk has completed its acquisition of Akero Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company developing treatments for patients with serious metabolic diseases marked by high unmet medical need, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Akero is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Novo Nordisk.

ChemLex, a Singapore AI-for-science company, has announced the establishment of its global headquarters and laboratory, alongside the closing of a $45m funding round led by Singapore venture capital firm Granite Asia. ChemLex develops AI technologies that accelerate chemical discovery for the pharmaceutical industry using a 24/7 chemistry system that accelerates chemical discovery and aims to be more cost-efficient and sustainable than traditional laboratory methods. Driving this is an innovative AI-powered, fully automated synthesis line, which runs experiments autonomously, captures data in real-time, and transforms chemical discovery from a stop-start process into a smooth workflow. The new funding will support the hiring of more hardware/software engineers, as well as chemists, enabling the company to serve a broader pipeline of pharmaceutical and materials science projects.

Swedish pharma Sprint Bioscience has sold its TREX1 cancer program to US biopharma Gilead Sciences for an upfront payment of $14m, together with potential clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments totalling up to $400m.

UK private investment company, Buckland Group has completed its acquisition of US medical technology company Becton Dickinson’s Swindon, UK manufacturing site, a high-precision, high-volume medical device production facility. The acquisition marks the creation of a new company – Quvara Medical – a new contract manufacturing organisation.

Israeli pharma Teva Pharmaceutical has unveiled Teva Rise, an open innovation platform designed to harness the power of a variety of disruptive technologies including AI, industry 4.0 smart manufacturing, digital health and biotech, by connecting startups and technology companies with Teva’s business units. The initiative aims to co-create solutions for the challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry, and to drive patient impact and business transformation in line with Teva’s growth strategy. The platform will help validate start-ups’ solutions in real-world settings and enable them to scale their impact with Teva through a partnership model.

US medical devices and health care company, Abbott Laboratories and US molecular diagnostics company Exact Sciences have announced a definitive agreement for Abbott to acquire Exact Sciences, which will enable it to enter the fast-growing cancer diagnostics sector. Under the terms of the agreement, Exact Sciences shareholders will receive $105/common share, representing a total equity value of approximately $21bn.

China’s state-owned oil and gas company, Sinopec and Korean chemical company LG Chem have signed an agreement to develop materials for sodium-ion batteries. The two parties will collaborate on the development of cathode and anode materials for sodium-ion batteries, targeting the energy storage systems and low-speed electric vehicle markets. The partnership aims to accelerate the commercialisation process, expand the business models for sodium-ion batteries and extend cooperation in the fields of new energy and high-value-added materials.

UK materials developer Xampla is working with Japanese chemicals manufacturer DIC Group to introduce its PFAS- and plastic-free Morro Coatings to Japan and Asian countries. Morro Coatings are the first natural polymers made from plants to enter the Asian packaging market. The move will help Japanese packaging manufacturers replace plastic and PFAS coatings across foodservice packaging formats and attract both domestic and international customers looking for plastic-free coating options. Based on 15+ years of research at the University of Cambridge, UK, Morro materials are a world-first patented technology. They are made from plants, not chemically modified, and PFAS and plastic-free. They are also home compostable and biodegradable in all environments (including marine water).

US chemical firm Huntsman, in collaboration with German safety shoes and boots company Steitz Secura, has developed a polyurethane (PU) that can help improve the circularity of safety footwear. The two companies have created a polyurethane midsole system called Daltoped that can incorporate recycled content without compromising performance. Huntsman has developed a way to introduce recycled PU into new shoe components which requires no changes to existing processing or chemistry workflows, yet which maintains performance on a par with virgin materials.

German chemical company Wacker has presented a new silicone product for medical and therapeutic applications – a biomethanol-based silicone gel, SILPURAN eco 2114. This adhesive enables the skin-friendly fixation of wound dressings, plasters, wearables and sensors.

Syensqo is reopening its synthetic vanillin production unit in Saint-Fons, France, which had been mothballed since May 2024. The unit was scheduled to resume operations by the end of 2025, responding to changing market conditions and strengthening its support for European customers in the food, flavour and fragrance sectors.

Sandoz has completed its acquisition of Just-Evotec Biologics EU SAS from Evotec SE. The deal includes the Toulouse development and manufacturing site and an indefinite licence to cutting-edge continuous-manufacturing technology for biosimilars.