Bradford Particle Design, the developer of new techniques to produce powdered pharmaceuticals, is to be acquired by Inhale Therapeutic Systems of the US for £137m. [22-Dec-2000]
Oxagen has raised £30m from private equity groups to fund research into the genetic causes of disease. [22-Dec-2000]
Pantherix, the drug discovery company, has raised a further £10m of venture capital to fund the construction of new laboratories and to double its staff from 23 to nearly 50 over the next two years. [20-Dec-2000]
BP and Solvay of Belgium are planning to reorganise their plastics operations through an asset swap and new joint ventures, with BP gaining a polypropylene business in exchange for its engineering polymers business. [20-Dec-2000]
Celsis is to acquire Biotec Laboratories, the developer of a new test for TB, in order to move into the market for rapid healthcare diagnostics. [18-Dec-2000]
Laporte, the speciality chemicals company, has accepted a £1.36bn takeover bid from Degussa-Huls of Germany, which is expected to lead to the loss of some of the 30 jobs at Laporte's head office. [18-Dec-2000]
Laporte, the speciality chemicals company, has received a takeover approach from Degussa-Huls of Germany. [15-Dec-2000]
Elan is to increase its stake in Vernalis, the drug development company, from 2% to 7% at a cost of £5m, in a two-way royalty deal that involves clinical trials of a new migraine treatment. [14-Dec-2000]
Northpoint, the Manchester-based manufacturer of anti-corrosion coatings, has undergone a £2.7m management buy-out. [13-Dec-2000]
Shire Pharmaceuticals is to acquire BioChem Pharma of Canada for £2.7bn, in order to broaden its portfolio of speciality pharmaceutical products. [12-Dec-2000]
Enact Pharma is looking to raise £10m to fund clinical trials of its biotechnology-based products. [11-Dec-2000]
Elementis, the speciality chemicals group, has received a takeover approach from an unnamed financial buyer. [07-Dec-2000]
ICI has sold three commodity chemicals businesses - Klea, Chlor-Chemicals and Crosfield - to Ineos of Belgium for £325m, which completes its transformation into a speciality chemicals group. [06-Dec-2000]
Oxford Glycosciences is forming an alliance with Glaxo Wellcome to conduct research into proteins associated with specific diseases, and Glaxo will use the technology to monitor the progress of drugs through trials. [04-Dec-2000]
Phytopharm has raised £11m in a share placing to fund the development of a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease. [30-Nov-2000]
Advantage West Midlands and Birmingham University are considering plans to set up a £200m research park at Longbridge to specialise in the development of nanotechnology. [30-Nov-2000]
Coalite Chemicals is planning to shed 110 of the 260 jobs at its Bolsover factory, as a lack of coal tar feedstock has resulted in a reduction in output. [29-Nov-2000]
Galen is looking to spend up to £700m on acquisitions to expand its pharmaceuticals business, and is particularly interested in US companies, small biotechnology groups and companies with a European salesforce. [29-Nov-2000]
Cambridge Antibody Technology is planning to use existing funds of £155m to nearly double its staff to 250 and to increase spending on drug research. [28-Nov-2000]
Aventis is planning to relocate its UK-based agrochemical research division and 300 staff to France and Germany, which will involve the closure of sites at Ongar, Essex, and Hauxton, Cambridgeshire. [27-Nov-2000]
BTG is forming a joint venture with Croda Chemicals to manufacture the active ingredient in Varisolve, a new treatment for varicose veins. [24-Nov-2000]
Beeson Gregory, the investment bank, is to provide £20m of funding for a new £60m chemistry building at Oxford University, in return for equity stakes in any spin-off businesses that are launched. [24-Nov-2000]
The government has announced plans to invest £110m in genomics research and £98m in new internet technologies, while a further £44m has been allocated to areas such as quantum computing, photonics and nanotechnology. [23-Nov-2000]
Fraser Williams Pharma Systems, the pharmaceutical software company, has undergone a £7m management buy-out, and plans to move into larger premises in Birmingham soon. [21-Nov-2000]
BASF is to close its pharmaceutical research and development centre in Nottingham by next March, with the loss of 200 jobs. [20-Nov-2000]
Revlon is planning to relocate its London headquarters from Mayfair to the Highgate Studio complex in Camden. [20-Nov-2000]
Bradford Particle Design has raised £4m from 3i and existing shareholders in order to fund the commercial development of a new powder particle manufacturing process for the pharmaceutical industry. [15-Nov-2000]
Nycomed Amersham is planning to carry out genetic research in China and Brazil in a number of joint ventures designed to save money. [14-Nov-2000]
SSL International is to buy the Hibi range of antiseptic products from AstraZeneca for £46m. [14-Nov-2000]
Oxford Glycosciences is planning to raise £150m in a share offer, in order to develop new drugs, recruit 75 sales staff and fund acquisitions. [14-Nov-2000]
Yule Catto is to close its Holliday Dyes & Chemicals factory in Huddersfield in February with the loss of 162 jobs. [13-Nov-2000]
SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome are planning to divide their drug research operations into eight competing profit centres, in order to ensure that innovation is not lost when the two groups merge. [13-Nov-2000]
Ellis & Everard, the chemicals distributor, is to accept a £310m takeover bid from Vopak of the Netherlands, although a rival bid could still be launched by another company. [10-Nov-2000]
Tower Hamlets Council has approved plans from the University of London to build a £14m chemistry building at its Queen Mary's site. [09-Nov-2000]
Bovis Lend Lease has set up a new division to manage projects for the pharmaceutical industry, and it will employ 6,000 people in 40 countries. [08-Nov-2000]
Oxford Glycosciences is planning to create up to 40 jobs at its new drug discovery head office and factory near Abingdon. [02-Nov-2000]
Unilever has sold its Elizabeth Arden perfume and skincare business to FFI Fragrances of the US for £155m. [01-Nov-2000]
Croda International has sold its international adhesives operation to Sovereign Specialty Chemicals of the US for £30m. [01-Nov-2000]
Biovation, the Aberdeen-based biotechnology company, has been acquired by Merck of Germany for about £20m. [30-Oct-2000]
Brunner Mond is planning to transform the land around its chemicals site in Northwich, including the creation of an urban village with 700 homes, the transformation of a waste dump into parkland and the construction of a new energy plant. [30-Oct-2000]
ICI is in discussions to sell three chemical businesses - Chlor-Chemicals, Klea and Crosfield - to Ineos of Belgium for about £300m, as part of a strategy to focus on speciality chemicals. [30-Oct-2000]
AstraZeneca is planning to outsource its IT operations to IBM in order to reduce costs, which could involve the transfer of up to 1,200 staff. [27-Oct-2000]
Cantab Pharmaceuticals is to conduct a strategic review that is expected to lead to the company being put up for sale by the end of the year. [27-Oct-2000]
Petrochem UK is planning to acquire the Carless chemical refinery at Parkeston in Essex from Repsol. [26-Oct-2000]
Ellis & Everard has received a number of takeover approaches, prompting speculation that a leading US chemicals distributor could buy the business. [25-Oct-2000]
Bovis Lend Lease is about to start work on the construction of a £416m biotechnology campus in Dublin for American Home Products, which will include drug development and production facilities. [25-Oct-2000]
Pfizer has awarded a £50m construction management contract to Bovis for a new laboratory and office complex at Sandwich in Kent. [25-Oct-2000]
BP is developing a shortlist of companies interested in acquiring its Burmah Castrol chemicals business for about £800m, and frontrunners include venture capital groups Cinven and BC Partners. [23-Oct-2000]
British Biotech is forming an alliance with Serono of Switzerland to develop new treatments for inflammatory diseases. [18-Oct-2000]
Boots is to acquire Clearasil, the acne treatment, from Procter & Gamble for £233m, in order to expand its international skincare business. [18-Oct-2000]
The government is to provide £26m of funding for nine genetic research projects in north-west England, and the Daresbury government laboratory in Cheshire will participate in three of the projects. [17-Oct-2000]
John Innes Centre is to shed 30 jobs at its science research centre in Norwich, in order to release funds for work on plants and microbes. [12-Oct-2000]
Genetix, the gene discovery company, is planning to raise £27m in a share placing, in order to fund research, acquisitions and an expansion in its sales force. [12-Oct-2000]
Powderject is to lease part of its recently-acquired vaccines plant in Speke to Aviron, which will enable the US company to set up a plant to manufacture flu vaccines. [12-Oct-2000]
Cambridge Antibody Technology is to relocate its Cambridgeshire headquarters from Melbourn to Granta Park in Great Abington over the next two years, which will involve the relocation of 180 jobs and the creation of 70 new jobs. [10-Oct-2000]
AstraZeneca is planning to centralise its UK distribution hub at Newcastle-under-Lyme, with the site being run by distribution specialist Firmin Coates. [10-Oct-2000]
SmithKline Beecham is to acquire Block Drug, the US toothpaste company, for £850m, in order to expand its dental care division. [09-Oct-2000]
Norgine of the Netherlands is to invest £4m in the production of gastrointestinal tablets at its Caerphilly factory in South Wales, creating 50 jobs. [06-Oct-2000]
Alliance UniChem is acquiring Interpharm for £122m in order to gain access to the Dutch pharmaceutical wholesaling market, and is now seeking acquisitions in Germany, Poland and Scandinavia. [06-Oct-2000]
Protherics has put its computer-aided molecular design business up for sale in order to focus on drug discovery, and it has also announced plans to manufacture a new rattlesnake antivenom at its plant in Carmarthenshire. [05-Oct-2000]
Fife College is forming a consortium with colleges in Falkirk, Greenock and Hamilton to invest £1m in the development of new centres of excellence for the biotechnology industry. [29-Sep-2000]
Bioglan Pharma has acquired the remaining 50% of CS Laboratories, the French pharmaceutical company, and is now looking to further expand its activities in the US and Europe. [29-Sep-2000]
BTG, the intellectual property manager, is planning to raise £121m in a rights issues, in order to set up a separate biotechnology group, expand into North America and fund joint ventures with other technology companies. [29-Sep-2000]
Provalis is to raise £11m in a share placing, in order to fund the expansion of its Glycosal diabetes monitoring device. [29-Sep-2000]
Intercare is to acquire Macarthy for £83m, as part of a strategy to become a leading manufacturer and distributor of generic drugs. [28-Sep-2000]
Penn Pharmaceuticals, the Tredegar-based pharmaceutical services company, has undergone a £12m management buy-out, and plans to double the size of its outsourcing business over the next three years. [27-Sep-2000]
Laporte is selling a number of non-core businesses to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for £810m, including pigments, additives, water technology, timber and electronics. [26-Sep-2000]
Aztec Chemicals is to create up to 15 new jobs following the recent merger of its chemical supply business with Aztec Aerosols on a new site in Crewe. [26-Sep-2000]
Huntsman has confirmed plans to invest £50m at its titanium dioxide plant near Hartlepool, and is also planning to invest £75m at its Teesside petrochemicals sites over the next few years. [22-Sep-2000]
Microbio Group, the developer of natural pest controls with 50 staff, has been bought by Becker Underwood of the US for undisclosed terms. [21-Sep-2000]
Peptide Therapeutics is to receive a £28m investment from Baxter of the US in exchange for a 20% stake, and the company will be renamed Acambis. [21-Sep-2000]
Oxford Glycosciences is planning to seek a secondary listing on Nasdaq, in order to help with the expansion of its biotechnology business into the US. [20-Sep-2000]
Durlacher is forming a £12m joint venture with BMP of Germany to invest in start-up life science companies. [18-Sep-2000]
CeNes Pharmaceuticals is raising £7.4m in a share placing, in order to fund the purchase of rights to pain and nausea pharmaceutical products. [13-Sep-2000]
Elan has acquired Dura Pharmaceuticals of the US for £1.25bn, in order to strengthen its sales force and product portfolio in North America. [12-Sep-2000]
Oxford Glycosciences is forming an alliance with Medarex of the US to develop new drugs using proteomics technology, and a separate alliance with Cambridge Antibody Technology to develop protein chips. [12-Sep-2000]
Unilever is to stop manufacturing soap products at Port Sunlight with the loss of 125 jobs, in order to transfer production to factories abroad. [08-Sep-2000]
Powderject Pharmaceuticals has agreed to acquire the UK vaccines business of Celltech for £55m. [08-Sep-2000]
ReNeuron, the biotechnology company, is planning to raise up to £20m in a flotation on Aim this autumn, in order to fund research into neural stem cells. [07-Sep-2000]
CeNes Pharmaceuticals is to acquire three drugs from Glaxo Wellcome for £10m, including Diconal, Cyclimorph and Valoid. [05-Sep-2000]
SmithKline Beecham has sold three pharmaceutical products in order to help secure approval for its merger with Glaxo Wellcome, with Famvir and Vectavir going to Novartis and Kytril to Roche. [01-Sep-2000]
Scottish Enterprise is in talks with Quantum Biotechnologies of Canada about the development of a £3m biomanufacturing facility at Excell Biotechnology in Midlothian. [31-Aug-2000]
Parexel International is considering plans to expand its Sheffield-based pharmaceutical services business by acquiring more office space for its 150 employees. [30-Aug-2000]
Oxford Natural Products has raised £3m of private funding in order to finance the development of plant-based pharmaceutical products. [29-Aug-2000]
Goldshield is to acquire Achievers Unlimited, the US marketer of slimming and nutritional products, for up to £6.3m, and is now seeking acquisitions in the UK pharmaceutical market. [29-Aug-2000]
Mason Coatings has sold its transport coatings and graphics activities to Akzo Nobel for £9.4m, which is expected to lead to job losses at its Derby factory. [28-Aug-2000]
Scottish Enterprise has won the go-ahead from the Scottish Executive for the construction of a £70m biotechnology manufacturing park at Gowkley Moss Farm in Midlothian, which could lead to the creation of up to 900 jobs. [28-Aug-2000]
Powderject is in negotiations to acquire Celltech's vaccines manufacturing business, which employs 600 people in Speke, for about £50m. [25-Aug-2000]
BioFocus, the pharmaceutical services group, has raised £4m in a flotation on Aim in order to fund the refurbishment of its Sittingbourne laboratory. [22-Aug-2000]
Reckitt Benckiser is planning to set up a new headquarters at the Delta Business Park in Swindon, which could lead to a major recruitment drive. [18-Aug-2000]
PPL Therapeutics is linking up with Bayer of Germany for the commercial development of AAT, a protein derived from sheep's milk, and the product will be manufactured at a new factory in Scotland. [17-Aug-2000]
Xenova is seeking a merger partner in order to further the development of its biotechnology-based products. [15-Aug-2000]
Glaxo Wellcome is to shed 80 of the 750 jobs at its pharmaceuticals plant in Montrose, in order to cut costs. [11-Aug-2000]
Oxford Biomedica has raised £8.5m in a share placing in order to set up a new gene division, and the proceeds will be spent on the recruitment of scientists and the marketing of two new technologies. [10-Aug-2000]
Oxford Molecular has sold its software division to Pharmacopeia of the US for £18m, and the remaining business will now be liquidated. [10-Aug-2000]
BOC is looking to spend up to £200m on acquisitions, and is particularly interested in medical and speciality gases. [09-Aug-2000]
Nycomed Amersham is considering plans to move into drug discovery, funded by the proceeds from the flotation of its life sciences division. [08-Aug-2000]
Croda International is considering plans to sell off its industrial chemicals division, in order to focus on speciality chemicals. [02-Aug-2000]
Oxford Asymmetry is to be acquired by Evotec of Germany for £285m, in order to create one of the world's leading suppliers of drug discovery services. [01-Aug-2000]
ICI is looking to sell off Halo and PTC, the remaining parts of its loss-making industrial chemicals business. [28-Jul-2000]
AstraZeneca and Novartis are planning to dispose of a number of fungicide and herbicide products in order to win European approval for the merger of their agrochemicals businesses into a new company called Syngenta. [27-Jul-2000]
Cantab Pharmaceuticals is in talks to acquire Peptide Therapeutics, the Cambridge-based biotechnology company, for about £80m, in order to create the largest independent vaccines group in Europe. [27-Jul-2000]
ML Laboratories has raised £11m in a share placing in order to fund the development of its drug delivery business. [26-Jul-2000]
Wolstenholme Rink, the supplier of chemicals to the printing industry, has accepted a £49m takeover offer from Rutland Trust, and the business will be split into two separate entities - pigments and printing materials. [26-Jul-2000]
Rhodia of France is planning to merge its two UK pharmaceuticals facilities with its newly-acquired Chirex business in the US, in order to create a new pharmaceutical services division. [25-Jul-2000]
Oxford Asymmetry International, the supplier of chemical services to the pharmaceutical sector, is in takeover talks with at least one potential foreign bidder. [20-Jul-2000]
Elan is seeking acquisitions to build up a salesforce in Germany and France, as part of a strategy to expand its pharmaceuticals business throughout Europe. [20-Jul-2000]
Huntsman has won approval from Hartlepool Council for a £50m expansion at its Tioxide pigments plant at Greatham. [19-Jul-2000]
Hepworth has sold Hepworth Minerals & Chemicals to Watts Blake Bearne, a subsidiary of Belgium's SCR-Sibelco, for £86m. [19-Jul-2000]
Nycomed Amersham is considering plans to float up to 40% of its Amersham Pharmacia Biotech joint venture in the US. [17-Jul-2000]
Xenova is raising £10m in a rights issue in order to fund trials of new drugs, and plans to commercialise them through partnerships with big pharmaceutical companies. [14-Jul-2000]
Octavius Hunt is planning to expand its pesticides factory in Bristol, by investing in new machinery and increasing the 30-strong workforce. [14-Jul-2000]
Alizyme is raising £14m in a share placing in order to fund the development of obesity treatments. [13-Jul-2000]
Reflec, the inks and coatings company, has raised £7.2m to fund three acquisitions - Corrosion Control International, a 75% stake in Reflective TV, and the global rights to the Kevlar anti-corrosion trademark. [13-Jul-2000]
Ellis & Everard is looking to expand its chemicals distribution business in the US, and aims to spend about £20m on capital investment projects and £50m on acquisitions. [12-Jul-2000]
Nycomed Amersham has sold its Nycomed Amersham Medical Systems subsidiary to a management buy-out team for £10m. [12-Jul-2000]
The Medical Research Council is to spin off its Human Reproductive Health Sciences Unit in Edinburgh into a new company called Ardana Bioscience, which will employ 75 scientists and commercialise the unit's work over the next five years. [10-Jul-2000]
Oxagen is looking to raise about £30m in order to provide funding for its research into the genetic causes of disease. [10-Jul-2000]
Oxford Molecular is selling Cambridge Discovery Chemistry to Millennium Pharmaceuticals for £35m, in order to reduce debt. [07-Jul-2000]
Hickson International is to be acquired by Arch Chemicals of the US for £97m, enabling Arch to expand its international operations and increase its presence in the biocides and performance urethanes markets. [07-Jul-2000]
The Queen's University of Belfast is planning to build a £3.5m research centre to support Northern Ireland's pharmaceutical development base, and it will open in September 2001. [07-Jul-2000]
Arrow Therapeutics has raised £11m to fund the development of new classes of antibiotics, and expects to sign up a pharmaceutical company as a development partner within the next few months. [06-Jul-2000]
British Biotech is planning to focus on the development of antibiotics, in order to reinvent itself following the disappointing results from its marimastat cancer drug. [06-Jul-2000]
Blagden is to seek voluntary liquidation, having completed the sale of its chemicals production and distribution businesses. [04-Jul-2000]
Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals is planning to invest £30m in a new production facility at its Seal Sands site on Teesside, with the creation of 50 jobs. [03-Jul-2000]
Oxford Cryosystems, the life sciences research group, has been acquired by Ferraris for £6.7m. [30-Jun-2000]
Smith & Nephew is to sell its consumer products division to a management team and Beiersdorf of Germany, in order to raise £235m and focus on its more profitable high-tech activities. [29-Jun-2000]
Pharmagene is planning to raise £30m in a flotation, in order to fund the expansion of its business providing biotechnology research services to pharmaceutical companies. [29-Jun-2000]
Robinson Brothers, the manufacturer of chemicals for the rubber and drugs industries, is to close its plant in Cambois near Ashington, with the loss of 78 jobs. [29-Jun-2000]
BP Amoco is expected to invest up to £100m in improvements at its Grangemouth petrochemical plant, after it has conducted a full safety audit of the site. [23-Jun-2000]
Infineum has announced plans to close its plant in Stanlow, which produces additives for lubricating oils, with the loss of about 70 jobs. [23-Jun-2000]
Rhodia is to shed 180 jobs at its chemical plant in Whitehaven, in order to improve competitiveness. [19-Jun-2000]
Cantab Pharmaceuticals is seeking acquisitions in order to boost its product development pipeline, and is already in discussions with one or two companies. [16-Jun-2000]
Flexsys is to close one of its rubber chemicals plants near Wrexham over the next two years with the loss of 160 jobs, leaving 200 workers at the remaining three plants. [15-Jun-2000]
McLeod Russel is looking to sell its Mason Coatings paints business in Derby and Granite Coatings in Salford, in order to focus on its air conditioning operation. [14-Jun-2000]
British Biotech is to cut at least 90 jobs from its medical research and administration functions, in order to focus more resources on drug development. [12-Jun-2000]
Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham have dropped plans to combine their US headquarters onto a single site, and will instead operate from the two existing sites in Philadelphia and North Carolina. [09-Jun-2000]
Bradford Particle Design has opened a £1m manufacturing plant to develop a new way of producing particles for the pharmaceutical industry, and is in discussions with potential partners to move into full production in the future. [09-Jun-2000]
BP Amoco is to close its phthalic anhydride production unit in Hull, and its linear phthalates business will be sold to Lonza for undisclosed terms. [08-Jun-2000]
BTG, the intellectual property manager, is planning to invest £25m over the next five years on clinical trials for its Varisolve treatment for varicose veins. [08-Jun-2000]
Shire has opened an operating subsidiary in Spain, as part of a strategy to develop a global pharmaceuticals business. [08-Jun-2000]
SSL International is to open a new over-the-counter medicines factory in Peterlee, County Durham, which will employ about 200 people, while a plant in Blackburn will be closed with the loss of 50 jobs. [06-Jun-2000]
DuPont is to close its automotive paints factory at Minworth in the Midlands with the loss of 300 jobs, and production will be transferred to sites in Germany. [05-Jun-2000]
Tees Storage Company is to invest £2.5m in the construction of 13 chemical storage tanks on Teesside, and is changing its name to Vopak Terminal Teesside. [05-Jun-2000]
Avecia is considering plans to close its pigments facility in Grangemouth, which would involve the redeployment of 130 workers. [02-Jun-2000]
BP Amoco is planning to acquire Bayer's 50% stake in their Cologne-based ethylene joint venture, in a deal estimated at £338m. [30-May-2000]
CeNes Pharmaceuticals has acquired Cambridge Neuroscience of the US for up to £29m, and is now seeking further acquisitions to boost its product pipeline. [24-May-2000]
AEA Technology has re-opened the former British Biotech laboratory in Cowley, Oxford, as a chemical plant to make drugs for companies testing new medicines. [23-May-2000]
Skyepharma is to raise £60m through a convertible bond in order to fund the development of its own drugs, having decided to change its strategy away from developing products for other companies. [18-May-2000]
Oxford Glycosciences is seeking new partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, having won a US patent to protect technology for the identification of proteins used in drug discovery. [17-May-2000]
Procter & Gamble is planning to close its Hedley House headquarters in Newcastle-upon-Tyne next year, and most of the 600 staff will be transferred to a new Global Business Services Centre at the Cobalt Business Park. [17-May-2000]
BOC, the industrial gases company, has abandoned an agreed £7.4bn takeover by Air Liquide of France and Air Products of the US, having failed to win approval from the Federal Trade Commission for a series of asset disposals in the US. [15-May-2000]
Wrafton Laboratories has won approval from North Devon District Council to double the size of its medicines factory in Braunton, with the creation of up to 500 jobs. [12-May-2000]
Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham have announced plans to base their new corporate headquarters at SB's site in Brentford, while the pharmaceutical operating company will move to Stockley Park and seven other sites will close. [11-May-2000]
Yorkshire Group has acquired the global textile dyes and the European industrial dyes business of Crompton & Knowles of the US, in a deal worth about £50m. [11-May-2000]
Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham have won approval from the European Commission for their merger, provided they dispose of products with EU sales of £50m. [09-May-2000]
Ellis & Everard is to close nine of its 21 UK warehouses with the loss of 60 jobs, as a result of a new e-commerce system that will allow customers to buy chemicals online. [09-May-2000]
Williams is to sell its US paint businesses for £300m, with North American Paint going to a management buy-out and Masterchem Industries going to Masco Corporation. [09-May-2000]
Eurogene has raised £15m in a private share placing, in order to fund research into new drugs for diseases of the circulatory system. [09-May-2000]
United Drug, the healthcare services company, has acquired Ashfield Healthcare of Birmingham for up to £16m. [09-May-2000]
Galen is to acquire Warner Chilcott, the US supplier of women's health products, for £190m. [05-May-2000]
Trigen Holdings, the developer of blood-clotting drugs, is planning to raise £15m in a share placing later this month, in order to fund its research and development programme. [03-May-2000]
Dow Corning has completed a £200m expansion of its silicone factory in Barry, which has created 200 jobs and doubled the site's production capacity. [03-May-2000]
Genzyme is planning to build a £12m plant in Haverhill, Suffolk, to produce the active chemical ingredient for Renagel capsules. [26-Apr-2000]
The Automation Partnership, the Mid-Anglia-based supplier of drug discovery systems, is moving its research and manufacturing to a new £5m headquarters in Royston, creating 125 jobs over the next four years. [25-Apr-2000]
Natural Options is to relocate the head office of its vitamin supplements business from Fleetwood to Bispham, Blackpool, with the creation of 60 jobs. [25-Apr-2000]
Cambridge Drug Discovery is to collaborate with Teijin of Japan to develop new treatments for diabetes and obesity. [25-Apr-2000]
Alstom is to acquire Sunvic of Germany, in order to expand its electrical contracting business into the petrochemical and chemical industries. [20-Apr-2000]
Rhodia is planning to split its Whitehaven site into two, with phosphates and surfactants being run as separate entities, prompting speculation that the surfactants business could be sold off. [20-Apr-2000]
Croda is to shed 35 of the 100 jobs at its chemicals factory on the Barnfields Industrial Estate in Leek, in order to move more production to Singapore. [14-Apr-2000]
Armour Trust, the household products company, is raising £10m through the sale of Airfresh, Bluecol Brands, Bars Motor Products and Nilco Chemical Company to Pennzoil-Quaker State of the US. [13-Apr-2000]
Elan is forming an alliance with American Home Products to conduct research into new vaccines for Alzheimer's disease. [06-Apr-2000]
Dundee University is to build a £4m biomedical research centre, as part of a £18m government investment in new research facilities at Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh universities. [05-Apr-2000]
Innovex, the US pharmaceutical services company, is seeking 200,000 sq ft of office space in the High Wycombe and Farnborough areas in order to rationalise its UK property holdings. [03-Apr-2000]
Peptide Therapeutics has sold its Mimetrix drug discovery business to Medivir of Sweden for up to £6m, prompting speculation that Peptide could become a takeover target. [28-Mar-2000]
Weston Medical is planning to raise about £50m in a flotation in order to fund the commercial development of its drug delivery systems. [28-Mar-2000]
Skyepharma is forming a joint venture with PA Consulting to develop a new asthma inhaler. [27-Mar-2000]
Norscot Pharmaceuticals, the Aberdeen-based pharmaceutical wholesaler with 56 staff, has been acquired by Germany's Phoenix Pharmahandel for undisclosed terms. [27-Mar-2000]
Celltech is planning to sell its vaccine manufacturing plant in Speke by mid-year for up to £60m, and is also looking to close the recently-acquired Medeva headquarters in Leatherhead. [23-Mar-2000]
Alliance UniChem is planning to invest £20m in the development of an internet-based drug wholesaling business, providing a link to manufacturers, pharmacists and consumers. [23-Mar-2000]
Maelor is raising £6.6m in a share placing in order to fund the development of new healthcare products using sterile fluids and off-patent medicines. [23-Mar-2000]
Clariant of Switzerland is planning to set up a new life sciences and electronic chemicals division based in Manchester, by combining the recently-acquired BTP fine chemicals business with its life sciences intermediates business. [22-Mar-2000]
ICI is to relocate its London headquarters from Millbank to Manchester Square next year. [22-Mar-2000]
Tepnel Life Sciences is raising £4.5m in a share placing, and has also announced the acquisition of Genesys Biotech, the DNA purification specialist. [21-Mar-2000]
Ascot is looking to spend up to £200m on the acquisition of fine chemicals companies over the next 18 months, while engineering and property assets worth up to £150m will be sold off. [21-Mar-2000]
Staveley Industries has announced the sale of its British Salt business to US Salt for £80m. [17-Mar-2000]
Cleveland Potash is planning to build a £1m compaction and polishing plant at Saltburn-by-the-Sea. [16-Mar-2000]
Aortech has bought the remaining 67% of Elastomedic, the Australian specialist medical materials company, for £20m. [16-Mar-2000]
Nipa Laboratories is planning to invest £10m at its chemicals factory in Oswaldtwistle, in order to relocate the various production processes to a central modernised plant over a five year period. [15-Mar-2000]
Wellcome Trust is to build the £175m Diamond synchrotron for investigating biological structures at the Rutherford Appleton laboratory in Oxfordshire, as the government has decided against the alternative site in Cheshire. [14-Mar-2000]
Unilever is launching a home cleaning service called Myhome, which has been tested in London and will be extended to other parts of the country next year. [14-Mar-2000]
Ascot is to acquire Specified Fuels & Chemicals, the US speciality chemicals group, for £14m. [13-Mar-2000]
Biocompatibles International is to acquire Hydron, the contact lens manufacturer, for £38m, funded by a £31m share placing. [10-Mar-2000]
Cambridge Antibody Technology is planning to raise £100m in a share offer and listing on Nasdaq, in order to fund its transformation into a fully integrated pharmaceuticals group. [08-Mar-2000]
Yule Catto is looking to spend up to £170m on the acquisition of speciality chemicals companies this year. [08-Mar-2000]
Hydro Agri is to close its fertiliser plant in Immingham with the loss of up to 200 jobs, but 120 workers will be retained at the bagging store and distribution operation. [08-Mar-2000]
Nalco is expected to create 300 new jobs at its water treatment chemicals business in Northwich following its acquisition by Suez-Lyonnaise des Eaux, but job losses are likely at the Wythenshawe and Windsor sites of sister company Aquazur. [03-Mar-2000]
Cambridge Antibody Technology is forming an alliance with Human Genome Sciences of the US to develop new pharmaceutical products using CAT's technology. [02-Mar-2000]
Oxford University is planning to build a £50m chemistry laboratory, and expects to appoint a preferred bidder in May. [02-Mar-2000]
Oxford Asymmetry International has paid £1.1m for a 58% stake in ProPharma, the drug development spin-off from Strathclyde University's department of pharmaceutical services. [02-Mar-2000]
Ace Chemical is to relocate its animal health products business from Gretna to Lockerbie, with the creation of 32 jobs. [02-Mar-2000]
Zotefoams, the chemicals group, is to gain access to markets in Asia and South America in a sales and marketing agreement with Sekisui Chemical of Japan. [29-Feb-2000]
KS Biomedix is raising £15m in a share issue in order to fund the development of new treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. [29-Feb-2000]
Oxford Glycosciences is to raise £33m in a share placing in order to develop new techniques for identifying proteins in DNA testing. [25-Feb-2000]
Abcam is to relocate to the Cambridge Science Park, in order to provide space for the expansion of its antibodies distribution business. [25-Feb-2000]
Strakan Group, the Galashiels-based developer of prescription medicines, has received a £11m cash injection from a syndicate of investors and hopes to double the size of its 22-strong workforce over the next two years. [24-Feb-2000]
PPL Therapeutics has announced plans to build a £42m drug manufacturing plant in Scotland with the creation of 150 jobs, and is seeking a suitable site in the Lothians. [23-Feb-2000]
ICI is to hand over the lease of its Millbank headquarters in London to electricity industry regulator Ofgem, but still has several years to find alternative accommodation. [21-Feb-2000]
Unilever's DiverseyLever subsidiary is moving into a new £10m 200,000 sq ft high bay chemicals distribution centre at Junction 28 of the M1. [17-Feb-2000]
Oxford Molecular, the lossmaking biotechnology group, has received a takeover approach from an unnamed company. [17-Feb-2000]
Creightons is to raise £1.3m in a share offer, in order to reduce debt and prepare for its transformation from a toiletries and fragrances business into a cash shell. [16-Feb-2000]
ReGen Therapeutics is planning to raise £5m through a share offer on Aim, in order to finance further trials of a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. [14-Feb-2000]
ML Laboratories is acquiring Cobra, the gene therapy company, for an initial £8m. [10-Feb-2000]
Amersham Pharmacia Biotech is raising £50m from a consortium of Scandinavian institutions by spinning off its laboratory-on-a-chip business into a new company called Gyros. [09-Feb-2000]
Reckitt Benckiser is looking to sell off about 75 brands this year, in order to focus on its core household cleaning and personal care products. [09-Feb-2000]
Meristem, the chemicals group, has announced that talks are taking place that could lead to a takeover offer. [09-Feb-2000]
Pfizer has reached agreement to acquire Warner-Lambert for $90bn, in order to create the second largest pharmaceuticals group in the world. [08-Feb-2000]
Axis-Shield is acquiring the point-of-care testing business of Nycomed Pharma of Norway for £22m. [08-Feb-2000]
Nycomed Amersham is creating 27 new research jobs at its Cardiff laboratories, to work on a number of new drug development projects. [04-Feb-2000]
Aortech International is to raise £17m in a share placing, in order to fund the development of its cardiovascular devices. [02-Feb-2000]
Smith & Nephew is buying Iruxol, the woundcare product, from BASF for £74m, and will seek approval to market the treatment in the UK, France, Australia and Japan. [02-Feb-2000]
ML Laboratories is in negotiations to acquire Cobra Therapeutics, the Keele-based gene therapy company, for about £15m. [01-Feb-2000]
ML Laboratories is planning to float a stake of up to 25% in its Innovata Biomed respiratory products division. [26-Jan-2000]
Scotia Holdings has raised £11m in a share placing in order to fund the development of its key projects. [26-Jan-2000]
Inpharmatica has announced a £6m research agreement with Parke-Davis of the US, in which its Biopendium technology will be used to understand the structure of proteins. [26-Jan-2000]
BTP, the fine chemicals company, has agreed to a £1.1bn takeover offer from Clariant of Switzerland. [25-Jan-2000]
M&A Pharmachem has announced plans for the expansion of production facilities at its medicines business in Westhoughton, and a new customer services function has been set up with the creation of an unspecified number of jobs. [21-Jan-2000]
Burmah Castrol has acquired Reax Industria e Commercio, the Brazilian supplier of construction chemicals, for £12m. [21-Jan-2000]
BTP, the fine chemicals group, is in takeover talks with Clariant, the Swiss company that has been trying to break into the UK market. [20-Jan-2000]
BASF is to relocate its pharmaceuticals headquarters from Germany to London, prompting speculation that the division could eventually be sold. [20-Jan-2000]
Oxford Biomedica has raised a further £5m in a share issue for the development of gene therapy, and is looking to move from the Alternative Investment Market to a full stockmarket listing. [19-Jan-2000]
Glaxo Wellcome is to merge with SmithKline Beecham to create a combined pharmaceuticals group with market capitalisation of £107bn, and the operational headquarters will be moved to the US. [18-Jan-2000]
Glaxo Wellcome has resumed negotiations for a merger with SmithKline Beecham, which could lead to the creation of the world's largest pharmaceuticals group. [15-Jan-2000]
Arizona Chemical is to close its tall oil distillation and rosin resin operation at Chester-le-Street, with the loss of 74 of the 160 jobs at the site. [13-Jan-2000]
Ellis & Everard, the chemicals distributor, is looking to expand its geographic coverage in the US and has also announced plans to launch a business e-commerce site. [12-Jan-2000]
Napp Laboratories is to cut 20 jobs at its pharmaceuticals research facility on Cambridge Science Park, while some employees will be relocated to other sites. [11-Jan-2000]
Cambridge Drug Discovery has merged with Cambridge Genetics in a £2.7m deal involving Cambridge University, and the combined business will have 36 staff. [11-Jan-2000]
Celltech has sold Rapigene, its US-based gene analysis contract service, to Qiagen for £7.3m. [11-Jan-2000]
SmithKline Beecham has awarded a £5m contract to Walter Lilly for the refurbishment of laboratories in Harlow, Essex. [08-Jan-2000]