Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals 2002 - Company News Summary

Molins has acquired the smoke constituent analytical business of LGC for £1m, and will rename the business Arista Laboratories Europe and occupy LGC's laboratories in Teddington while a new site is established.
24-Dec-2002

Acheson & Acheson is seeking permission to expand its toiletries factory near Trowbridge, with the creation of 30 jobs.
19-Dec-2002

DuPont, the US chemicals company, is considering plans to invest in a number of unnamed high-technology companies in the UK, and is thought to be interested in spin-offs from Oxford and Cambridge universities.
16-Dec-2002

ICI is to sell Nobel Enterprises, the Ayrshire-based manufacturer of industrial coatings with 280 staff, to Inabata of Japan for an estimated £35m.
12-Dec-2002

Paradigm Therapeutics has raised £12m of venture capital to expand its Cambridge-based biotechnology business.
09-Dec-2002

City of Edinburgh Council is to consider plans for the development of a £200m biomedical research park next to the new Royal Infirmary, and construction is expected to start next year.
05-Dec-2002

Renovo has secured a further £21m of venture capital to fund the development of embryonic cell technology to help with the healing of wounds.
02-Dec-2002

Medical Solutions is to sell its pharmaceuticals division to Ecolab of the US for £16m and its Cellpath business to Clinicare Products for £1.6m.
29-Nov-2002

Glasgow University is planning to build a £20m biomedical and cardiovascular research centre, and four construction companies will return tenders next month.
28-Nov-2002

Synigence has acquired HMG Worldwide, the provider of clinical and patient information to pharmaceutical companies, for £3.5m.
22-Nov-2002

Thornton & Ross is to expand its pharmaceutical powders business with the £0.8m acquisition of the Electrolade range from Middlesex-based Eastern Pharmaceuticals, and production will be transferred from France to its site in Huddersfield.
20-Nov-2002

Wellcome Trust has won planning permission to build a £100m genetics laboratory at Hinxton near Cambridge by spring 2005, and up to 200 leading research scientists will be recruited.
08-Nov-2002

Xcellsyz is to set up a new £1.5m headquarters for its biotechnology business in Newcastle with the creation of 20 jobs, and hopes to create up to 200 jobs over the next three years.
01-Nov-2002

Whatman is to relocate its Banbury-based micro-filtration laboratory and 40 jobs to a new £4m site on the Wildmere Road estate early next year, with the creation of 75 new jobs.
01-Nov-2002

Norwest Holst has won a £18m contract to build a biomedical sciences centre at Leicester University, with completion due in 2004.
24-Oct-2002

United Drug has acquired the UK business of Ventiv Health for £4.8m, in order to expand its Ashfield Healthcare contract pharmaceutical sales outsourcing division.
18-Oct-2002

Alliance UniChem is planning to expand the 80-strong workforce at its Eldon Laboratories pharmaceuticals plant in Newcastle-upon-Tyne with 20 new staff over the next three years, having just opened a £2m extension at the site.
18-Oct-2002

Biotrace International has acquired Fred Baker Scientific, the Runcorn-based supplier of culture media to the pharmaceutical industry, for £1.5m.
17-Oct-2002

John Innes Centre has submitted plans to build a £25m genomics research laboratory at its Norwich Research Park science institute.
14-Oct-2002

Elementis is to acquire the US-based chromium operations of Occidental Chemical Corporation for £30m.
11-Oct-2002

Powderject is to set up a direct sales force to sell its flu vaccine, with the creation of 25 jobs.
09-Oct-2002

Terra Nitrogen is to invest £11m in improvements at its ammonia plant in Billingham, in order to reduce energy usage, improve environmental performance and increase output.
27-Sep-2002

Johnson Matthey has submitted plans to build three chemical silos and a processing chimney at Cresswell in North Staffordshire.
24-Sep-2002

Johnson Matthey is to buy Synetix, the Billingham-based catalyst manufacturer with 800 staff in several countries, from ICI for £260m.
23-Sep-2002

Akzo Nobel has sold Rosemont Pharmaceuticals, the Leeds-based manufacturer of liquid pharmaceuticals with 120 staff, to Biotechnology General of the US for £64m.
23-Sep-2002

Cytomyx is to acquire Cambridge BioScience, the reseller of life science products and services, for an initial £1m.
20-Sep-2002

AstraZeneca is to set up a £40m screening centre at its Alderley Park site in Cheshire by next year, in order to boost research into cancer, diabetes and other illnesses.
19-Sep-2002

Avidex has raised £11m of venture capital to fund the development of new drugs for cancer and arthritis.
18-Sep-2002

Shire Pharmaceuticals is to acquire Atlantic Pharmaceutical Services, the US-based pharmaceuticals manufacturer with 100 staff in Maryland, from Niro for £11m.
16-Sep-2002

Alliance UniChem has raised £88m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its pharmaceutical wholesaling operations in Germany and to seek acquisitions in Sweden, Finland and Poland.
13-Sep-2002

European Colour is to sell Tor Coatings, the County Durham-based coatings supplier, to a management buy-out for £13m.
11-Sep-2002

Angel Biotechnology is setting up a new biopharmaceuticals business at the Nelson Industrial Estate in Cramlington at the end of October, and aims to create 85 jobs by mid-2003.
11-Sep-2002

Eli Lilly, the US pharmaceutical company, has awarded a £18m contract to Warings to build new office and loading facilities at Windlesham in Surrey.
11-Sep-2002

Axis-Shield is to invest £6m in the development of a new point-of-care system for on-the-spot tests to detect disease, and the manufacturing will be subcontracted.
09-Sep-2002

Intercare has acquired LCO Sante, the French contract pharmaceuticals manufacturer with 179 staff, for £35m.
06-Sep-2002

Osmetech is planning to raise a further £5.4m in a share issue, in order to fund the development of electronic odour sensors, provide working capital and finance acquisitions.
05-Sep-2002

United Drug has acquired IntraVeno Healthcare and IntraPharma, the distributors of critical care, medical and pharmaceutical products to the healthcare sector, for £8m.
04-Sep-2002

Kudos Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge has raised £30m of venture capital to fund the development of anti-cancer treatments.
03-Sep-2002

GW Pharmaceuticals has raised £4.5m in a share issue to fund the development of prescription medicines from cannabis.
02-Sep-2002

GeneMedix is looking to open additional production plants in Asia and eastern Europe, as part of a strategy to double the size of its portfolio of generic drugs.
29-Aug-2002

BOC has acquired the Polish subsidiary of Praxair for £33m, in order to expand its industrial gases business.
29-Aug-2002

Galen has announced the £10m sale of its Interactive Clinical Technologies business to its founder, who also acquired the main clinical trials operation in May.
26-Aug-2002

Novartis has confirmed plans to build a major new pharmaceuticals production plant in Grimsby to manufacture ingredients for the Diovan treatment for high blood pressure, and construction is expected to start next year.
20-Aug-2002

CeNes Pharmaceuticals has sold its ion channel technology development business to Xention Discovery, a new Cambridge-based company backed by venture capitalist MVM, for £0.8m.
16-Aug-2002

Elementis is looking to spend up to £150m on acquisitions to expand its chemicals business, and will focus on speciality chemicals for the consumer market.
01-Aug-2002

Amersham is to acquire Motorola Life Science's pre-arrayed slides business for about £13m, in order to expand its biosciences operation.
26-Jul-2002

Cambridge Biotechnology has received £6m of venture capital to fund the development of new treatments for pain and obesity.
25-Jul-2002

The Department of Trade & Industry is to provide £5m of funding to encourage collaboration between the UK and US in biotechnology and medical research, which will help UK scientists find new partners and set up a training programme for the commercialisation of the research.
19-Jul-2002

Genus has acquired the business and certain assets of Dunwood VS, the Aberdeen-based wholesale veterinary distribution company currently in receivership, for £0.9m.
17-Jul-2002

Ardana Bioscience has acquired Europeptides, the French pharmaceuticals research company, for up to £18m, and is also in discussions with several US companies about the possibility of marketing their drugs in Europe.
12-Jul-2002

Onyx Scientific has raised about £2m to open new pharmaceutical sample laboratories in Sunderland, and will create about 50 jobs over the next 18 months.
11-Jul-2002

Chance & Hunt, the Runcorn-based chemicals distribution company with 48 staff, has been acquired by Luxembourg-based holding company Azelis for about £10m.
11-Jul-2002

CellFactors is planning to raise £8m in a share offer to fund the development of its Skeletex bone repair product and its neural cell therapy product.
10-Jul-2002

British Biotech is seeking acquisitions and research collaborations in Europe and North America in order to expand its portfolio of drugs.
08-Jul-2002

Charterhouse Therapeutics is looking to raise £15m to set up a laboratory in the Oxford area to develop a new class of drugs to treat viruses.
04-Jul-2002

Legal & General Ventures is to buy the household products division of IWP, which includes the Jeyes toiletries brand, for £87m.
03-Jul-2002

Novocastra Laboratories, the biotechnology company that started as a spin-off from Newcastle University, has been acquired by Vision Systems of Australia for £35m.
01-Jul-2002

Avecia is seeking planning permission for the £1.9m extension of its pharmaceutical laboratory facilities in Billingham.
27-Jun-2002

Oxford Glycosciences is looking into the possibility of merging with a rival biotechnology company, having failed to win US regulatory approval for its Vevesca treatment for Gaucher's disease.
25-Jun-2002

Coopervision is planning to relocate its contact lens manufacturing operations from Farnborough to Southampton over the next 14 months, as part of a phased closure that will result in job losses at Farnborough.
12-Jun-2002

BOC is to acquire the UK industrial gases business of Enron for about £10m, including compression facilities at a Teesside power plant.
06-Jun-2002

CeNes Pharmaceuticals has sold its cognitive testing division to a management team operating under the name of Cambridge Cognition for up to £1m.
03-Jun-2002

Proteome Sciences is planning to acquire Xzillion Proteomics, the proteomics division of Aventis Research & Technologies, for £12m.
03-Jun-2002

The Medical Research Council has awarded a £9m contract to Shepherd to build a new laboratory and research centre in Oxford.
30-May-2002

Greencore has sold Grassland Holdings, the Irish agricultural fertilizers company, to Freshgrass Investments for £11m.
24-May-2002

Dechra Pharmaceuticals has acquired Anglian Pharma of Lincolnshire for £2.5m, and will merge the business with its Dales pharmaceutical contract manufacturing business in Skipton.
21-May-2002

Cambridge Antibody Technology is planning to increase research spending by 60%, raise headcount from 270 to 300 and consolidate its Cambridgeshire operations onto one site.
21-May-2002

Falkirk Council has approved plans from Feralco to relocate its aluminium sulphate plant and 10 staff from Glasgow to Grangemouth Docks.
17-May-2002

BOC is to acquire Unique Gas & Petrochemicals of Thailand for £31m, and is now planning to make further bolt-on acquisitions in Asia.
17-May-2002

Amersham is to acquire Cimarron Software, the US developer of software for medical researchers, for up to £34m.
15-May-2002

Cleveland Potash, the Teesside potash mine with 866 staff, has been acquired by Israel Chemicals for £30m.
09-May-2002

Galen is to sell its clinical trials business to its founder for £130m, in order to focus on pharmaceuticals production.
09-May-2002

Huntsman is to invest £20m in the overhaul of its olefins cracker on Teesside over the next few months.
30-Apr-2002

Distillex is planning to relocate its North Shields chemical plant following a recent fire, which will affect 12 staff.
29-Apr-2002

Wellcome Trust and the government are to provide £45m of funding to the BioBank UK project to establish links between genes and disease, and bids will be invited to set up a national co-ordinating centre and five regional centres.
29-Apr-2002

Tripos Receptor Research is to set up a £16m drug research laboratory in Bude, Cornwall, with the creation of up to 146 jobs.
26-Apr-2002

QuantaNova, the biotechnology company that has 58 staff and was formerly known as Scotia, has been bought of administration by Biolitec of Germany for undisclosed terms.
26-Apr-2002

Axis-Shield has raised £8.3m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its medical diagnostics business.
26-Apr-2002

Biotrace International has acquired the hygiene testing assets of Konica Corporation of Japan for £0.2m, in order to expand its industrial and medical microbiology products business across the Asia Pacific region.
24-Apr-2002

Britmag, the Hartlepool-based magnesium works, has been bought out of administration by a management team under the name of CJC Chemical for undisclosed terms, saving 44 jobs.
22-Apr-2002

Dechra Pharmaceuticals is to acquire North Western Laboratories of Lancashire and its Cambridge Specialist Laboratory Services subsidiary for £2.8m, in order to expand its veterinary pharmaceuticals business.
10-Apr-2002

BOC is to invest £70m in an industrial gases joint venture in Nanjing, China, with Sinopec YPC, which will involve the acquisition of three existing air separation units and the construction of a new facility.
10-Apr-2002

United Drug has acquired New Splint, the Hampshire-based supplier of medical devices, for £7m.
09-Apr-2002

GlaxoSmithKline is donating £750,000 to the Teesdale Enterprise Fund, which aims to create 150 jobs in County Durham by helping new and expanding businesses.
04-Apr-2002

Alliance UniChem has acquired Holtung, the Norwegian pharmaceuticals wholesaler, for about £4m.
04-Apr-2002

Advanced Medical Solutions is to acquire MedLogic, the Plymouth-based manufacturer of medical grade adhesives for the wound closure market, for £2.5m, and has also announced a £4m rights issue.
29-Mar-2002

Amberley is to sell DS Companies, the manufacturer of water-based coatings, press room chemicals and adhesives in Germany and Sweden, to Fuji Hunt for £13m, thereby completing the disposal of all trading subsidiaries.
29-Mar-2002

Amberley is to sell its Metacol colourant and pigment operations to ColorMatrix Europe and British Vita for £2.2m.
25-Mar-2002

Alliance UniChem is considering plans to expand its pharmaceuticals distribution and retailing business into Turkey and eastern Europe, as part of a strategy to become Europe's market leader.
21-Mar-2002

SSL International has sold 21 over-the-counter pharmaceutical brands to Thornton & Ross for £13m, including some manufacturing equipment currently located at SSL's Guernsey and Peterlee sites.
20-Mar-2002

Mobious Genomics is considering plans to set up a £45m 150,000 sq ft laboratory at Exeter University's Innovation Centre to help major pharmaceutical companies process complex data about human genes, which could lead to the creation of up to 450 jobs.
18-Mar-2002

Oxford Glycosciences is to collaborate with BioInvent of Sweden to develop new therapeutic antibodies over the next three years, and will invest £3.5m in BioInvent shares.
15-Mar-2002

Pennine Healthcare is to set up a new headquarters for its health products business at the City Gate development in Derby in June, which will involve the relocation of up to 250 staff from its two existing sites nearby.
13-Mar-2002

Procter & Gamble is to close the recently-acquired Clairol beauty products factory in Cramlington with the loss of 60 jobs, while more than 100 jobs will be relocated to its plant at nearby Seaton Delaval.
08-Mar-2002

Provalis is raising £10m in a share placing to fund the development of products based on derivatives of its Glycosal monitor for diabetes.
08-Mar-2002

Wellbeing is planning to raise £1.2m in a flotation on Ofex to expand its health screening kits business.
05-Mar-2002

Sanofi-Synthelabo is planning to build a new £50m pharmaceuticals plant at its Fawdon site on Tyneside by 2004, but up to 100 jobs will be lost when the production of generic products is transferred to Eastern Europe.
28-Feb-2002

Avecia has confirmed plans to build a £70m biological medicines plant in Billingham by 2005, creating 300 jobs at what will be the world's largest pharmaceutical microbial fermentation facility.
28-Feb-2002

Celltech is investing £5m at its pharmaceuticals factory in Ashton-under-Lyne, which will involve upgrading its sterile production capabilities.
25-Feb-2002

The University of York is seeking permission to build a new £11m chemistry department at its Heslington site by 2004.
25-Feb-2002

PCI Services is planning a £10m expansion at its pharmaceutical packaging business in Corby, with the creation of 200 jobs over the next two years.
22-Feb-2002

Johnson Matthey has acquired Avocado Research Chemicals, the Heysham-based manufacturer of organic compounds for research laboratories with 70 staff, for an initial £25m.
12-Feb-2002

DCC is to acquire TechnoPharm, the Irish pharmaceuticals distributor, for up to £10m, in order to expand its hospital supplies business.
12-Feb-2002

Amersham Biosciences has acquired two filtration separation companies in the US - AG Technology and InnovaSep Technology - for up to £40m.
04-Feb-2002

Chemilines, the pharmaceutical distributor, is setting up a new 70,000 sq ft headquarters at Alperton Lane near Wembley, at a cost of £7.2m.
04-Feb-2002

TotalFinaElf is to expand its Cray Valley resins and paint products factory in Stallingborough later this year with the creation of up to 100 jobs, but its Caerphilly factory will close with the loss of about half the 200-strong workforce.
01-Feb-2002

Gendel has raised £2m of venture capital to fund the development of a new process for the controlled delivery of drugs using red blood cells.
01-Feb-2002

York Bioanalytical Solutions is to relocate its York-based bioscience laboratory to a new £1m site in Poppleton in May, with the creation of 32 new jobs.
30-Jan-2002

Microfine Minerals is building a new 24,000 sq ft warehouse at its mica flakes factory in Derby, and expects the workforce to rise from 58 to 66.
25-Jan-2002

Biolife Ventures is planning a reverse takeover of Zimed, the North Wales-based developer of an intravenous drip monitoring device.
23-Jan-2002

The University of St Andrews is linking up with Sasol of South Africa to set up a £5m laboratory this summer, employing 25 graduates to develop faster ways to make chemicals and plastics.
23-Jan-2002

Axxis International is planning to relocate its toiletries and cosmetics business from Westbury to its site in Trowbridge, with the transfer of up to 185 staff.
18-Jan-2002

Cambridge Antibody Technology is to acquire Drug Royalty Corporation of Canada for £55m.
18-Jan-2002

CXR Biosciences has been spun out of the University of Dundee with £4m of funding to develop new drugs, and the company will move into the former Cyclacel facilities and expand staffing levels from 14 to 40 this year.
17-Jan-2002

The University of Liverpool is to set up a genetic knowledge park in partnership with the universities of Manchester and Lancaster, as part of a government scheme to establish a network of such sites in Cambridge, London, Oxford, Newcastle, Salisbury, Wales and Manchester.
17-Jan-2002

Biocompatibles has sold its eye care division, which includes 950 staff at sites in Farnborough, Australia, Spain and the US, to Cooper Companies of the US for £68m.
16-Jan-2002

Arrow Therapeutics has acquired Oxford Gene Technology in a deal estimated at £6m.
14-Jan-2002

Galen is selling Chemical Synthesis Services, a small-scale drug manufacturing business with 110 staff in Northern Ireland, to its founder for £25m.
11-Jan-2002

Bespak is looking to spend up to £15m on acquisitions to expand its nasal drug delivery business and develop new products.
09-Jan-2002

Avecia is seeking permission to build a new bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing facility at its site in Billingham, with the creation of about 300 jobs.
07-Jan-2002