Whatman is to shed 235 jobs in its worldwide DNA filtration and storage techniques business, including 72 in the UK. [31-Dec-2002]
Shire Pharmaceuticals has raised £45m from the sale of its four remaining over-the-counter products to Purdue Pharma. [31-Dec-2002]
Whatman is to sell its Whatman HemaSure blood filtration business to Pall Corporation of the US for £3.7m. [24-Dec-2002]
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]
Bespak, the manufacturer of inhalers and other drug delivery devices, is considering plans to shed jobs at its plants in King's Lynn, Milton Keynes and the US, in order to reduce annual costs by £2m. [16-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]
Xenova is to close some of its drug discovery operations with the loss of up to 40 Cambridge-based jobs, as part of a strategy to conserve cash and contract out all non-essential development activities. [12-Dec-2002]
GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to sell its pharmaceuticals factory in Montrose to Akzo Nobel for undisclosed terms, and the workforce is expected to be cut from 700 to 500. [10-Dec-2002]
The Department of Trade & Industry is to allocate a further £40m to stem cell research, as part of an increased science budget that will also fund neuroscience, machine vision and grid computing. [10-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]
GlaxoSmithKline is considering plans to outsource its IT systems in a £1.5bn 10-year deal. [05-Dec-2002]
DuPontSA is to close one of its polyester resin plants in Wilton at the end of the year with the loss of 70 jobs, in order to concentrate production at the more modern M5 plant. [02-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]
Goldshield is linking up with Ideal Shopping Direct to launch Vitality TV, a new home shopping channel that will focus on nutritional and beauty treatments. [21-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]
Cambridge Antibody Technology is looking to make a substantial acquisition in order to increase the number of products in clinical development and speed up its path to profitability. [19-Nov-2002]
Elementis is planning to close some US operations with the loss of 60 jobs, in order to make savings of £10m over two years. [18-Nov-2002]
Rhodia is in discussions with industrial regeneration company Tamar about plans to convert parts of its chemical factory in Whitehaven into an industrial park. [11-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]
Boots is looking to reduce its cost base by £100m, which will lead to job losses in manufacturing and distribution and at its Nottingham head office. [08-Nov-2002]
Regent-GM Laboratories, the North London-based generic pharmaceuticals manufacturer, is to stop manufacturing in the UK by the end of the year, but has not yet decided which country production will be moved to. [01-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]
Rhodia ChiRex is to shed 45 jobs at its pharmaceutical ingredients plant in Annan, Dumfries. [31-Oct-2002]
Goldshield is considering plans to acquire the manufacturing operations of Dublin-based Miza, in order to secure the continued supply of a number of pharmaceutical products. [31-Oct-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]
Irish Fertilizer Industries has gone into liquidation with the loss of up to 620 jobs, including 200 at its Richardsons division in Belfast. [17-Oct-2002]
Bayer is to close its diagnostics research and development operation in Cambridge with the loss of 30 jobs. [16-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]
Dow Chemicals is to close one of its Dow AgroSciences research laboratories in King's Lynn by February, with the loss of 21 jobs. [11-Oct-2002]
Elementis is to acquire the US-based chromium operations of Occidental Chemical Corporation for £30m. [11-Oct-2002]
Northumbrian Water has won a £15m contract to clean up water from the Huntsman Polyurethanes plant on Teesside, which will involve the construction of 3km of pipelines and new processing plants at Wilton and Bran Sands. [10-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]
The Medical Research Council is planning to spin-out a new company called Etiologics to commercialise the mouse genetics research taking place at Harwell, and £3.5m of venture capital funding has been secured. [07-Oct-2002]
Elan has raised £239m from the sale of its Abelcet anti-fungal drug to Enzon of the US, and the deal includes a production plant in Indianapolis. [03-Oct-2002]
GlaxoSmithKline is to shed 400 of the 1,000 jobs at its pharmaceuticals plant in Ulverston, Cumbria, over the next two years. [30-Sep-2002]
Weston Medical, the developer of drug delivery systems, is reducing its workforce from 155 to 95 by the end of the year. [30-Sep-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]
Nova Chemicals is to temporarily close its EPS facility at Carrington in Manchester in October, as part of a reorganisation of its styrenics business. [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]
PPL Therapeutics is to close its stem cell division having failed to find a buyer, but still hopes to sell its xenotransplantation division by the end of the year. [17-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]
Xenova is to raise about £10m in a rights issue to fund further research into a range of new drugs. [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]
Alcan is to close its chemicals plant in Burntisland, Fife, with the loss of 370 jobs. [06-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]
BOC and Air Liquide of France are to combine their industrial and medical gas operations in Japan, creating a new group called Japan Air Gases. [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]
Croda International has been approached by a potential management buy-out team at the Seatons chemical plant in Hull, with the aim of preventing the closure of the site and saving about 40 jobs. [30-Aug-2002]
Reckitt Benckiser is considering plans to spend up to £1bn on acquisitions and new product launches in the personal hygiene market. [30-Aug-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]
Hunter-Fleming has raised £5m of venture capital to fund research into diseases of the central nervous system and immune deficiency. [27-Aug-2002]
Scotts Company is considering plans to close its fertiliser plant near Ipswich with the loss of 70 jobs, in order to transfer production to sites in East Yorkshire and France. [27-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]
Gramos Surface Treatment and Applied Chemicals are to be merged into a single Smethwick-based metals treatment business with 90 staff, as part of a reorganisation by parent company Victoria International. [22-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]
Oxford University has secured a £6.8m grant from the Wellcome Trust to research the genetic causes of health problems, including diabetes and heart disease. [19-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]
Close Brothers Corporate Finance is being tasked to find a buyer for Enron Teesside Operations, the 465-acre site at Wilton that provides utility and support services to bulk chemical manufacturers. [06-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]
Genetix is forming a joint venture with the Medical Research Council's Human Genome Mapping Project Resource Centre to map the proteins of the human body, with an initial budget of £2.5m. [22-Jul-2002]
Harwell International Business Centre is considering plans to transform its 730-acre site near Oxford into a biotechnology park, and companies are expected to be attracted by the high-level security systems employed by the UK Atomic Energy Agency. [22-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]
Alcan Chemicals Europe is in negotiations to sell its Burntisland plant to the Rider Group, and a deal is expected by the end of September. [19-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]
Elan, the pharmaceuticals group, is planning to raise £600m from the sale of various assets over the next 18 months, including equity holdings and products, in order to ease fears over its debt position. [10-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]
Baxter Healthcare is to shed 70 of the 650 jobs at its intravenous products manufacturing plant in Thetford, Norfolk. [09-Jul-2002]
Oxagen is to shed more than 20 jobs in its Oxfordshire-based biotechnology business, and has dropped plans for a flotation. [08-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]
ReNeuron is looking to merge its biotechnology business with a US group, in order to gain access to funding and provide a US company with access to the UK's more relaxed environment for stem cell research. [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]
BioVex, the Oxford-based biotechnology company, is planning to raise up to £20m in a funding round. [24-Jun-2002]
Croda International is to sell or close chemical plants in Market Harborough, Knottingley, Hull and Leek, putting 150 jobs at risk, and 40 jobs will be lost when production is moved from the Westbrook Lanolin site in Bradford to Rawcliffe Bridge. [21-Jun-2002]
Unilever is to shed 190 jobs at its Home & Personal Care research and development laboratory in Wirral. [20-Jun-2002]
Procter & Gamble is in negotiations with two US companies - EDS and Affiliated Computer Services - to outsource its Global Business Services department, which would involve the transfer of 750 staff at the Cobalt Business Park on North Tyneside. [19-Jun-2002]
CAB International, the environmental and medical research company, is considering plans to consolidate its operations onto a single site in Wallingford, which would involve the relocation of 100 staff from Surrey. [18-Jun-2002]
ICI is to sell its remaining 30% stake in the Huntsman International bulk chemicals business to CSFB Global Opportunities Partners for £291m. [18-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]
Veterinary Laboratories Agency is planning to revamp its research and development facilities in Weybridge at a cost of £40m. [10-Jun-2002]
Elan is planning to restructure its pharmaceuticals business by reducing its locations from 32 to about 16, withdrawing from some its 55 research joint ventures, and concentrating on neurology and pain management products. [10-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]
Prolifix of Abingdon has linked up with TopoTarget of Denmark to form a specialist anti-cancer group. [05-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]
Provalis is looking to sell or close its vaccines business, in order to reduce research and development costs by £2m a year. [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]
Numark, the independent pharmacy group with 1,500 members, is in merger talks with Middlesex-based rival Nucare, and is also planning to transform itself into an unlisted company this summer. [20-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]
Skyepharma has raised £15m from the sale of the European distribution rights of the Solaraze skin treatment to Shire Pharmaceuticals, and has also announced a £25m investment from Kowa of Japan. [14-May-2002]
Syngenta has announced plans to close its crop protection chemicals plant in Grimsby over the next three years, with the loss of 150 jobs. [10-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]
PPG is to close a coatings plant in Birmingham with the loss of 80 jobs, as part of a global cost-cutting programme. [03-May-2002]
Huntsman is to invest £20m in the overhaul of its olefins cracker on Teesside over the next few months. [30-Apr-2002]
ML Laboratories is planning to float the manufacturing operations of its Cobra Therapeutics division, in order to raise a few million pounds. [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]
BioProjects International, the provider of funding to biotech companies, is planning to raise about £4m in a flotation on Aim. [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]
Syngenta is to shed 130 of the 780 jobs at its crop protection chemicals plant in Huddersfield. [23-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]
Ciba Specialty Chemicals is to shed 70 of the 400 jobs at its Clayton plant in Manchester, in order to transfer production of some textile dyes to Asia, and is also considering plans to redevelop parts of the 57-acre. [16-Apr-2002]
Avon is to close its cosmetics factory in Northampton with the loss of 465 jobs, in order to transfer production to Poland. [15-Apr-2002]
Eastman Chemical is to close its Altovar varnishes factory in Banbury later this year with the loss of 18 jobs, in order to transfer production to Belgium. [12-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]
Ark Therapeutics is planning to raise £40m in a flotation, and its first biotechnology-based products are expected to be launched in 2004. [08-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]
GlaxoSmithKline has warned that more than 200 staff may face compulsory redundancy at its Barnard Castle plant in County Durham, while a further 180 have accepted voluntary redundancy. [29-Mar-2002]
Galen has bought two dermatology products - Moisturel and Duricef - from Bristol-Myers Squibb of the US for £28m. [29-Mar-2002]
Goldshield is to acquire the UK and Irish sales, marketing and distribution rights to 10 pharmaceutical products from Wyeth for £4.8m. [27-Mar-2002]
PPL Therapeutics is looking to raise up to £20m from the spin-out of its xenotransplantation and stem cell research operations, in order to fund the commercial development of other projects. [26-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]
Albion Chemicals is to close its sulphuric acid production plant in Sutton, Merseyside, in April with the loss of 60 jobs. [19-Mar-2002]
Biocompatibles has agreed to sell its cardiovascular stent business to US partner Abbott Laboratories for £164m, leaving Biocompatibles as a cash shell. [19-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]
Skyepharma has acquired the remaining 60% of RTP Pharma of Canada for £14m, and has raised £20m of development funding from Paul Capital Royalty Acquisition Fund. [14-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]
Amersham is to take full control of its life sciences division by paying £704m for the 45% stake held by Pharmacia, and has dropped plans for a partial flotation of the business. [13-Mar-2002]
Bespak has started work on the £20m extension of its inhalers factory in King's Lynn, which will secure the future of 600 jobs. [11-Mar-2002]
ClinPhone, the supplier of pharmaceutical testing services, is planning a £100m flotation, and the proceeds will be used to make acquisitions and open offices in continental Europe and the Far East. [11-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]
Dow Chemicals is to shed 50 of the 210 jobs at its recently-acquired Haltermann Custom Processing plants in Middlesbrough and Billingham. [19-Feb-2002]
MMI has announced plans to transform the former Roche drug discovery centre in Welwyn Garden City into an incubator for start-up companies in the biotechnology sector. [19-Feb-2002]
Microscience has raised £25m to fund clinical trials of five new vaccines currently under development. [18-Feb-2002]
Paterson Zochonis is to change its name to PZ Cussons to associate more closely with its soap brands, and has also announced plans to seek more acquisitions and joint ventures. [13-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]
Arrow Therapeutics has raised £7m to fund both acquisitions and its research into new types of antibiotics. [11-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]
ICI has put its Synetix catalyst business up for sale, which employs 400 people at Billingham and a further 400 worldwide. [01-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]
Perlos is to start producing products for the pharmaceutical sector at its Rainton Bridge factories near Houghton-le-Spring, following a fall in demand for plastic phone casings. [30-Jan-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]
ML Laboratories is planning to sell off its non-core activities - including the Innovata Biomed inhaler business and the DNA production division of its Cobra subsidiary - in order to focus on cancer treatment and pain management. [30-Jan-2002]
Alcan Chemicals is looking to sell its aluminium-based chemicals plant in Fife, which employs 385 people, and a management buy-out is said to be a possibility. [28-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]
W&J Leigh is to shed 15 of the 320 jobs at its paints factory in Bolton. [16-Jan-2002]
Johnson Matthey is planning to close its colours and coatings plant at Meir in Staffordshire, with the loss of 300 jobs. [16-Jan-2002]
Dow Chemicals is to close its ethylene oxide derivatives plant at Wilton in March with the loss of 27 jobs. [14-Jan-2002]
Arrow Therapeutics has acquired Oxford Gene Technology in a deal estimated at £6m. [14-Jan-2002]
Amec has won a £40m contract from a BP-led consortium for the construction of a £1.9bn petrochemical plant near Shanghai in China. [11-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]
Yorkshire Group is to withdraw from commodity textile dye production in the UK with the loss of 90 jobs, and production will be concentrated at one of its Leeds sites. [09-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]
NeuTec Pharma is looking to raise £10m in a flotation on Aim next month, in order to fund its research into treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections. [07-Jan-2002]
Strakan Group has raised a further £15m in a rights issue to fund the commercial development of new treatments for bone and skin diseases. [07-Jan-2002]