Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals 2008 - Company News Summary

I-Path Diagnostics has secured a £1m venture capital investment to fund the expansion of its Belfast-based biomedical technologies business.
19-Dec-2008

Pharmaceutical Profiles, the Nottingham-based drug development company with 75 staff, has been acquired by Quotient Bioscience Group of Newmarket for undisclosed terms.
17-Dec-2008

DCS Manufacturing is to relocate its health and beauty products factory from Wolverhampton to a 60,000 sq ft unit at Stratford-on-Avon by February 2009.
17-Dec-2008

Essentially Scottish Botanicals is to create 22 jobs in a £2.3m investment in essential oils production at the former Lovat Water bottling plant in Fanellan, Inverness.
15-Dec-2008

Baxter Healthcare is to set up a new £3.5m 38,000 sq ft drug manufacturing and research facility at the Liverpool Innovation Park on Merseyside by 2010.
09-Dec-2008

Plethora Solutions has raised almost £1m from a share placing and advanced payment to fund the development of treatments for urological disorders.
09-Dec-2008

Newcastle University has won £20m of funding from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council to set up a centre for Biopharmaceutical Process Development.
08-Dec-2008

Thornton & Ross is to acquire the muscle pain treatment brand Radian B from William Ransom & Son for £3.4m.
08-Dec-2008

Yule Catto has sold PFW, the Dutch manufacturer of aroma chemicals, to Keva UK for £5.8m.
05-Dec-2008

One NorthEast is expected to part-fund a £40m project proposed by the Middlesbrough-based National Skills Academy for the Process Industries to set up a chemical industry training centre over the next three years.
25-Nov-2008

GlaxoSmithKline is to acquire AZ Tika, the Swedish supplier of over-the-counter medicines, from AstraZeneca for £146m.
24-Nov-2008

United Drug has acquired The Specials Laboratory, the Northumberland-based manufacturer of unlicensed medicines with 120 staff, for £20m.
20-Nov-2008

Cambridge University has secured a £82m donation from the Gatsby Foundation to set up the Sainsbury Laboratory to study plant development by 2010, employing 120 scientists and 30 other staff.
19-Nov-2008

Source BioScience of Nottingham is planning to set up a DNA and genetics testing research laboratory at University College London.
19-Nov-2008

Pfizer is to set up a £41m stem cell research centre at Granta science park in Cambridge, employing about 40 researchers.
17-Nov-2008

Hydrochem is planning to double the size of its 10,000 sq ft water treatment chemicals factory in Hartlepool by early next year, and expects to increase the 14-strong workforce with ten new jobs over the next three years.
12-Nov-2008

ITI Life Sciences, the Dundee-based innovation body set up by Scottish Enterprise, is to invest £9.3m in research into the next generation of drug discovery targets over the next four years.
12-Nov-2008

Big DNA has secured £1.5m to fund the expansion of its Roslin-based life sciences business, including the development of new vaccine technology.
04-Nov-2008

GlaxoSmithKline is to acquire Genelabs Technologies, the US biopharmaceuticals company, for £35m.
31-Oct-2008

York Pharma has bought the assets of Celltran, the Sheffield-based biotechnology company with two wound care products, out of administration.
29-Oct-2008

Aquapharm is looking to raise a further £4m to fund the expansion of its Scottish biotechnology business, and hopes to agree a commercial licensing deal to develop anti-dandruff shampoos from marine microbes.
28-Oct-2008

Catch is looking to invest £7m in the expansion of its chemical industry training facility at Stallingborough, including new workshops, a mock process plant and an enlarged conference area.
22-Oct-2008

GlaxoSmithKline is to acquire Biotene, the dry-mouth treatment, from Laclede of the US for £100m, in order to expand its consumer healthcare business.
22-Oct-2008

Alliance Boots has acquired a 90% stake in Megapharm, the German oncology products supplier with 100 staff, for undisclosed terms.
20-Oct-2008

Sert UK has acquired M&S Toiletries, the Wakefield-based supplier of health and beauty products with 140 staff, from the Scottish & Midland Co-operative Society for undisclosed terms.
17-Oct-2008

GlaxoSmithKline has acquired the Egyptian off-patent drugs business of Bristol-Myers Squibb for £120m, including a manufacturing plant and 20 branded products.
16-Oct-2008

Cancer Research UK and the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council are to invest £50m in the development of cancer imaging research projects in Newcastle, Birmingham, Guildford, Sheffield and St Andrews over the next five years.
08-Oct-2008

Norfolk County Council is to consider proposals from the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council to set up a £13m life sciences research centre at Norwich Research Park.
08-Oct-2008

Bodycare Toiletries of Preston has been sold out of administration to a former management team for undisclosed terms, securing the future of 147 jobs.
08-Oct-2008

GlaxoSmithKline is said to be considering plans to relocate about 800 staff from Greenford to its Stockley Park site in Uxbridge next year.
02-Oct-2008

BWA Water Additives, the Stretford-based water additives supplier, is to be acquired by Bahrain-based United International Bank for £100m.
01-Oct-2008

Alba Bioscience has secured a £1.8m grant from Scottish Enterprise that will create up to 16 research jobs at its Edinburgh-based life sciences business.
24-Sep-2008

Controlled Therapeutics has secured a £1m Scottish Government grant that will lead to the creation of 23 new jobs at its life sciences research business in East Kilbride.
24-Sep-2008

CaridianBCT is to invest £16m in the expansion of its blood collection and processing devices business in County Antrim, with the creation of 235 jobs over the next three years.
19-Sep-2008

Protherics, the biotechnology company with 300 staff at sites in Runcorn, London, Ceredigion, Australia and the US, is to be acquired by BTG for £218m.
19-Sep-2008

Ineos Chlor has won government permission to build a £330m waste-fuelled power station at its chemicals plant in Runcorn.
17-Sep-2008

Cellzome, the biotechnology company with 95 staff in Cambridge and Germany, has agreed a deal worth up to £800m with GlaxoSmithKline to develop pharmaceuticals for inflammatory diseases.
11-Sep-2008

Bespak is seeking permission from West Norfolk Council to build a new £1m inhalers factory at its site in King's Lynn.
05-Sep-2008

Warwick International, the North Wales-based chemicals manufacturer with 380 staff, has undergone a £129m management buy-out backed by Close Brothers Private Equity.
03-Sep-2008

BHM Health Group, the Bridlington-based supplier of vitamins and supplements with 41 staff, has been sold out of administration by BDO Stoy Hayward to local firms B-Bio and Sharplook.
01-Sep-2008

Sareum Holdings has sold some of the assets of its Sareum drug discovery service subsidiary to Galapagos of the Netherlands for £0.6m, with the transfer of five staff to BioFocus DPI in Saffron Walden.
27-Aug-2008

Akzo Nobel has sold Crown Paints, its paint manufacturing business with 1,500 staff at factories in Darwen and Hull, to a management buy-out backed by private equity firm Endless for £70m.
20-Aug-2008

Energy Power Resources is seeking permission to build an 80,000 sq m shed to produce fertiliser from by-products at its chicken litter-fuelled power plant in Thetford.
19-Aug-2008

ClinPhone, the Nottingham-based clinical trials technology company, is to be acquired by Parexel of the US for £91m.
18-Aug-2008

Syngenta is to invest £75m in the expansion of its crop protection manufacturing facilities in Grangemouth and Huddersfield, while £35m will be spent at its Jealott's Hill research centre in Bracknell.
11-Aug-2008

Biocompatibles has acquired the business and net assets of BrachySciences, the US supplier of medical devices, for £11m.
28-Jul-2008

Acambis, the vaccine manufacturer, is to be acquired by Sanofi-Aventis of France for £276m.
28-Jul-2008

Yule Catto has sold its ultramarine pigment business to Rockwood Specialities Group for £36m, including Holliday Pigments, Holliday France and Holliday Chemical Espana.
22-Jul-2008

Ineos is planning to develop the first commercial-scale ethanol production plants fuelled by municipal waste by 2011, and will start agreeing deals over the next few months.
21-Jul-2008

United Drug has acquired Sharp Corporation, the US-based pharmaceutical contract packaging firm with about 600 staff, for £50m.
17-Jul-2008

Syntopix is to raise £1.5m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its Bradford-based drugs research and development business.
17-Jul-2008

Immunodiagnostic Systems, the South Tyneside-based medical testing kit maker with 60 staff, is considering plans to open sales subsidiaries in Canada, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
16-Jul-2008

ImmuPharma has raised £1.1m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its London-based drug discovery business.
11-Jul-2008

PZ Cussons, the supplier of personal care products, is to relocate its headquarters from Stockport to a new 40,000 sq ft building at the Manchester Business Park in 2010.
08-Jul-2008

Shire is to acquire Jerini, the German biotechnology company, for £260m, in order to expand its genetic therapy business.
07-Jul-2008

Cyprotex, the Macclesfield-based drug discovery company, is to raise £1m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its commercial sales infrastructure and laboratories.
23-Jun-2008

Procter & Gamble is said to be looking to relocate its Weybridge headquarters to a new site of up to 150,000 sq ft.
23-Jun-2008

NeutraHealth has acquired Perrigo UK, the Derbyshire-based manufacturer of vitamin and mineral supplements, for £6.4m, and Perrigo will now trade under the Brunel Healthcare name.
18-Jun-2008

First DataBank Europe is to relocate its Exeter-based pharmaceutical knowledge systems business and up to 63 staff to the Exeter Business Park this autumn.
12-Jun-2008

Jeyes has acquired Power & Liquid Products, the County Durham-based supplier of cleaning products with annual sales of £15m, for undisclosed terms.
10-Jun-2008

ICON, the provider of outsourced services to the pharmaceutical industry, is creating 60 jobs at its new operation in Edinburgh.
04-Jun-2008

Stiefel, the pharmaceuticals group, is said to have agreed to set up a 49,000 sq ft headquarters at the Luminaire building in Maidenhead.
04-Jun-2008

DxS Diagnostics, the personalised medicine specialist with 30 staff, is planning to double the size of its manufacturing facility in Manchester over the next few months.
29-May-2008

Hi-Tech Coatings, the Aylesbury-based supplier of coatings to the printing industry, has been acquired by Heidelberg of Germany for undisclosed terms.
20-May-2008

Antisoma is to acquire Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, the US drug developer, for £27m.
19-May-2008

Intellego has acquired the assets of Zenosis, the publisher of compliance training courses for the pharmaceutical industry, out of administration.
13-May-2008

The Scottish Police Services Authority is planning to set up a new multi-million pound forensic science laboratory in Dundee, and will now work with developers to acquire a suitable site.
12-May-2008

Croda International has sold its Chicago Oleochemicals business in the US to private equity firm HIG Capital for £47m.
09-May-2008

Sciantec Analytical Services is to create 17 new jobs at its Cawood animal feeds and pharmaceuticals laboratory in Selby over the next six months, and some staff will relocate from its recently-acquired Central Laboratories division in Banbury.
05-May-2008

Warwick International has acquired GME Chemicals, the Malaysian distributor of coatings, household chemicals and petrochemicals, for undisclosed terms.
01-May-2008

Elementis is to acquire Deuchem, the Taiwan-based supplier of additives and resins, for £40m.
29-Apr-2008

Acambis is to raise £40m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its vaccine manufacturing and research business, which includes sites in Cambridge and the US.
24-Apr-2008

GlaxoSmithKline is to acquire Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, the US drug discovery company, for £362m.
24-Apr-2008

Avon is to relocate the Northampton-based headquarters of its cosmetics business to Merchant Place's 100,000 sq ft office development on the River Nene next year.
22-Apr-2008

Dundee University is to set up a new £10m life sciences institute called the Scottish Institute for Cell Signalling.
22-Apr-2008

Deb, the manufacturer of Swarfega cleaning products, is to relocate up to 180 jobs from Belper to a new £20m headquarters in Denby in June 2009.
18-Apr-2008

Lab901 has raised £3.5m from Alliance Trust Equity Partners and other investors to fund the expansion of its Edinburgh-based life sciences automation business.
17-Apr-2008

Hanworth Laboratories has acquired a 75% stake in Surefil Beauty Products, the St Helens-based cosmetics company with 100 staff, for £1.5m.
17-Apr-2008

Shire, the pharmaceuticals group, is to relocate its tax base to Ireland, but the 300 staff will remain in Basingstoke.
16-Apr-2008

Piramed, the Slough-based biotechnology company, is to be acquired by Roche of Switzerland for £90m.
15-Apr-2008

CeNes, the Cambridge-based pharmaceuticals manufacturer with 15 staff, is to be acquired by Paion of Germany for £11m.
11-Apr-2008

Auralis has secured a £1.4m capital investment from Aquarius Equity Partners to fund the expansion of its Cheshire-based pharmaceuticals business.
10-Apr-2008

United Drug has acquired Universal Conference & Incentive Travel of Slough and Business Edge Solutions & Training of St Albans for a total £14m, in order to expand its contract sales division.
07-Apr-2008

The British Heart Foundation is to set up a £7.6m research centre at the University of Edinburgh, as part of a £34m investment at sites including Imperial College London, King's College London and the University of Oxford.
07-Apr-2008

Maelor has acquired Speciality European Pharma International, the Swiss pharmaceuticals company, for an initial £9.2m.
31-Mar-2008

Brotherton Speciality Products, the Wakefield-based chemicals company with about 50 staff, has been acquired by Esseco Group of Italy for undisclosed terms.
19-Mar-2008

BASF has agreed to sell its acrylonitrile plant at Seal Sands on Teesside to Ineos Nitriles for undisclosed terms, with the transfer of 240 staff.
17-Mar-2008

EUSA Pharma of Oxford has acquired Cytogen, the US biotechnology firm, for £11m, taking its worldwide workforce to more than 200.
13-Mar-2008

Umeco has sold its chemical distribution businesses, including Aeropia and RD Taylor, to Haas TCM Group for £13m, in order to focus on advanced composites.
12-Mar-2008

Alizyme has raised £10m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its Cambridge-based biopharmaceuticals business.
07-Mar-2008

Current BioData, the supplier of scientific information services to the pharmaceuticals industry, is creating 45 jobs for biochemists and biologists at the Institute of Life Science at Swansea University.
07-Mar-2008

AH Marks, the Bradford-based agricultural chemicals manufacturer with 300 staff, has been acquired by Nufarm of Australia, as part of a £75m deal that also included US-based Etigra.
06-Mar-2008

Croda International has raised £13m from the sale of its 46% stake in Baxenden Chemicals, the Accrington-based supplier of polyurethane products, to Chemtura Corporation.
04-Mar-2008

Antisoma, the biotechnology company, is to set up a 15,000 sq ft office at Chiswick Park in West London in May.
04-Mar-2008

D3 Technologies is to set up a research and development centre for clinical molecular diagnostic products at the Nova Business Park in Glasgow, with the creation of 22 jobs.
27-Feb-2008

Illumina, the US biotechnology company, is to set up a new 41,500 sq ft European headquarters at Chesterford Research Park in Essex.
26-Feb-2008

Atlas Genetics of Bath has secured £2.1m from the South West Ventures Fund and Braveheart Ventures to finance the development of its Velox System, which tests for lethal infections.
22-Feb-2008

Genzyme is planning to expand its pharmaceuticals factory in Haverhill, in order to increase production of the bulk polymer product for its kidney disease drug.
21-Feb-2008

Medical Solutions is to acquire Autogen Bioclear UK, the Wiltshire-based supplier of life sciences, diagnostic pathology and clinical research products with nine staff, for up to £6m.
20-Feb-2008

Avanticell Science has secured £1m of funding to develop new three-dimensional cell-based tests to assist in drug discovery, in partnership with Giltech of Ayr and Culzean Medical Devices of Prestwick.
20-Feb-2008

Shasun Pharma Solutions is considering plans to build a new pharmaceuticals laboratory and expand the pilot project plant at its site in Cramlington over the next 18 months, with the creation of 55 jobs.
19-Feb-2008

Teva UK is to set up a new 262,000 sq ft headquarters and pharmaceuticals distribution centre at the ProLogis site in Glasshoughton, Leeds, later this year.
15-Feb-2008

Intertek has acquired Bioclin, the Irish pharmaceutical testing laboratory with 20 staff, for an initial £2.4m.
13-Feb-2008

The Translational Medicine Research Collaboration (TMRC) is to provide £15m of funding to 39 medical research projects in Scotland, which could create up to 100 jobs at the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
13-Feb-2008

Hunter-Fleming, the Bristol-based biopharmaceuticals firm with 13 staff, has been acquired by Newron of Italy for up to £19m.
13-Feb-2008

Yule Catto is to sell James Robinson, the Huddersfield-based manufacturer of photographic chemicals and hair dyes, to Vivimed Labs of India for £11m.
12-Feb-2008

Perstorp is planning to double the capacity at its recently-acquired caprolactone chemicals factory in Warrington by 2010, which could increase the 65-strong workforce.
12-Feb-2008

GrowHow UK is to invest £15m in the expansion of its ammonium nitrate plant in Billingham, securing the future of 200 jobs, and capacity will also increase at its plant near Chester.
08-Feb-2008

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics is to expand its biotechnology products factory in Llanberis, Gwynedd, with the creation of up to 200 jobs over the next two years.
06-Feb-2008

Whatman, the diagnostic products manufacturer with 1,100 staff in Maidstone, Banbury and throughout the world, is to be acquired by GE Healthcare for £363m.
05-Feb-2008

NeutraHealth has acquired the Gerard House and Galloway herbal brands from Potters for £0.4m, in order to expand its Brunel Healthcare supplements division.
05-Feb-2008

Drug Development Solutions, the Dundee-based pharmaceutical trials firm with 37 staff, has been acquired by Chiltern.
05-Feb-2008

Ineos has won EC approval to acquire Kerling, the Norwegian PVC manufacturer with a site in Newton Aycliffe, for £500m.
01-Feb-2008

PZ Cussons has acquired The Sanctuary Spa Holdings, the supplier of personal care products, for £75m.
30-Jan-2008

Galpharm Healthcare, the Barnsley-based supplier of over-the-counter medicines with 64 staff, has been acquired by Perrigo Group of the US for £44m.
14-Jan-2008

Quantum Specials is planning to expand the workforce at its County Durham-based pharmaceutical manufacturing business from 100 to 125 over the next year.
14-Jan-2008

William Sinclair Holdings has acquired Joseph Metcalf, the Accrington-based horticultural chemicals supplier trading under the GEM brand, for £3m.
11-Jan-2008

Hexcel has won approval from South Cambridgeshire District Council to build a carbon fibre chemical precursors plant in Duxford, and the application will now go to the Secretary of State.
11-Jan-2008

Hale Group, the pharmaceuticals manufacturer with more than 100 staff in Widnes and Southport, is to be acquired by Marksans Pharma of India for undisclosed terms.
09-Jan-2008

Ark Therapeutics is to acquire Lymphatix Oy of Finland for £1.7m, in order to gain access to new technology for the development of gene-based medicines.
09-Jan-2008

Tor Coatings has bought the fire-retardant coatings business of Kent-based Bollom Fire Protection out of administration for undisclosed terms.
07-Jan-2008