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Pharmaceutical intermediates: CPhI 2004: better times to come
FOCUS company was sold to an individual investor who still controls what is left. Cookson’s disposal of non-core assets is mentioned below. Johnson Matthey’s recent acquisition of Synetix implies that it regards catalysis, rather than precious metal chemistry, as a core technology. Let us hope that it succeeds in combining precious and non-precious catalysts under one management: it will not be easy. Alan E. Comyns
MARKETS AND BUSINESS A chiral world Product development with chirality considered from an early stage can help to maximise time-to-market potential and minimise development and production costs and waste management. According to Frost & Sullivan (2003), chiral technologies are still focused on traditional techniques. A table defines traditional methods (chiral pool synthesis, classic resolution, and chromatography), asymmetric methods (chemical and asymmetric synthesis) and biological methods (biocatalysis, biotransformation, and bioresolution). A table gives expected revenue growth from chiral technologies 2002-2009, subdivided into traditional methods, asymmetric methods, and biological methods. The total expected revenues are $7.1 bn in 2002 and $14.9 bn in 2009. A table gives the main factors influencing performance of chiral technologies and number of players subdivided into the 3 methods identified. Only 16% of the 42 companies doing business in the field of chiral technologies are able to provide assistance to customers in all areas. Chimica Oggi, Nov/Dec 2004, 22, (11-12 Chiral Catalysis Supplement), 36-37
Pharmaceutical intermediates: CPhI 2004: better times to come The main events of the CPhI pharmaceutical intermediates exhibition held in Brussels recently
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are discussed. Across the sector capacity utilisation rates are running at around 70%. Degussa’s synthesis and catalyst unit recorded sales of $468.3 M during 2004, with 5-8% growth predicted for 2005. Degussa is restructuring its fine chemicals businesses, reducing exclusive synthesis capacity by 15% to around 700 m3/y by the end of 2005. The company expects to record a 15% return on capital employed and an ebitda margin of around 20% in 2006. Degussa intends that eventually around 20% of its fine chemicals will be manufactured in India or China. Lonza is also moving into China and should announce a cGMP manufacturing presence in the country in Jan 2005. It is building an R&D centre in Guangzhou, which will focus on developing active substances and intermediates for use in chemical custom manufacturing. China will be the fifth-largest pharma market by 2010. Chemical Week, 19 Jan 2005, 167 (2)
Japanese inorganic chemicals production An extensive review of production trends for inorganic chemicals, focusing on: high-purity phosphoric acid, activated carbon, barium salts, photocatalytic titanium dioxide, and ultra-fine zinc oxide particles. A line chart shows trends in inorganics production (FY1993 to FY2003). Tables show: Japanese inorganic chemicals production (2003 and 2004, 28 compounds or chemical types) and Japanese imports/exports for major inorganic chemicals (2001 through 2003, 16 compounds exported and 13 compounds imported). Japan Chemical Week, 20 Jan 2005, 46 (2302), 7-8
Informex informs A number of announcements were made by companies at the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association’s Informex exhibition last week, these highlighting the custom chemical sector’s drive towards biopharmaceuticals and business development in Asia. Degussa’s exclusive synthesis and catalysts business is to spend $1.3 M on a new
R&D centre in Mumbai, India. This will include a kilo-scale plant. Albany Molecular Research has announced the setting up of a subsidiary in Singapore that will provide fee-forservice medicinal chemistry, combinatorial chemistry, process research, and scale-up. Albany has made an initial $5 M investment in Singapore and is to launch a similar operation in Hyderabad, India, later in 2005. Avecia announced the spin-off of Reaxa, a jv of its polymer chemistry group and Cambridge University. The new business will work on encapsulated precious-metal catalysts that Avecia has developed with a professor at Cambridge. Reaxa is expected to achieve sales of $20 M in 5 years. Chemical and Engineering News, 24 Jan 2005, 83 (4), 8 (Website: http://www.cen-online.org)
Chinese catalysts enter new development cycle Sinopec and Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd have signed an agreement on the purchase of catalyst assets valued at RMB Yuan 49.9 M. The Chinese catalyst sector is still quite diffuse. Total global output of polyethylene and polypropylene is about 80 M tonne/y and catalyst demand is about 6000 tonnes. The global petrochemical sector is in a rising sector. In China there is only 50% self-sufficiency rate in polyolefins. In Nov 2004, Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd’s 700,000 tonne/y ethylene renovation project was completed and brought onstream. Its ethylene capacity has already reached 900,000 tonne/y. Jinzhou Petrochemical Co Ltd has started building its 600,000 tonne/y continuous reforming unit. Jingmen Petrochemical Co Ltd has started production at its 1 M tonne/y delayed coking project. Consumption of catalysts is expected to increase substantially. Yanhua High-Tech owns the only BCH catalyst production unit in China. BCH is a catalyst used in polyethylene production. The company holds 70% of the domestic market. Total demand for ys842 catalyst in China is about 100 tonne/y and Yanhua High-Tech’s domestic market share is currently about 10%. China Chemical Reporter, 16 Jan 2005, 16 (2), 18
MARCH 2005
MARKETS AND BUSINESS A chiral world Product development with chirality considered from an early stage can help to maximise time-to-market potential and minimise development and production costs and waste management. According to Frost & Sullivan (2003), chiral technologies are still focused on traditional techniques. A table defines traditional methods (chiral pool synthesis, classic resolution, and chromatography), asymmetric methods (chemical and asymmetric synthesis) and biological methods (biocatalysis, biotransformation, and bioresolution). A table gives expected revenue growth from chiral technologies 2002-2009, subdivided into traditional methods, asymmetric methods, and biological methods. The total expected revenues are $7.1 bn in 2002 and $14.9 bn in 2009. A table gives the main factors influencing performance of chiral technologies and number of players subdivided into the 3 methods identified. Only 16% of the 42 companies doing business in the field of chiral technologies are able to provide assistance to customers in all areas. Chimica Oggi, Nov/Dec 2004, 22, (11-12 Chiral Catalysis Supplement), 36-37
Pharmaceutical intermediates: CPhI 2004: better times to come The main events of the CPhI pharmaceutical intermediates exhibition held in Brussels recently
2
ON
C ATA LY S T S
are discussed. Across the sector capacity utilisation rates are running at around 70%. Degussa’s synthesis and catalyst unit recorded sales of $468.3 M during 2004, with 5-8% growth predicted for 2005. Degussa is restructuring its fine chemicals businesses, reducing exclusive synthesis capacity by 15% to around 700 m3/y by the end of 2005. The company expects to record a 15% return on capital employed and an ebitda margin of around 20% in 2006. Degussa intends that eventually around 20% of its fine chemicals will be manufactured in India or China. Lonza is also moving into China and should announce a cGMP manufacturing presence in the country in Jan 2005. It is building an R&D centre in Guangzhou, which will focus on developing active substances and intermediates for use in chemical custom manufacturing. China will be the fifth-largest pharma market by 2010. Chemical Week, 19 Jan 2005, 167 (2)
Japanese inorganic chemicals production An extensive review of production trends for inorganic chemicals, focusing on: high-purity phosphoric acid, activated carbon, barium salts, photocatalytic titanium dioxide, and ultra-fine zinc oxide particles. A line chart shows trends in inorganics production (FY1993 to FY2003). Tables show: Japanese inorganic chemicals production (2003 and 2004, 28 compounds or chemical types) and Japanese imports/exports for major inorganic chemicals (2001 through 2003, 16 compounds exported and 13 compounds imported). Japan Chemical Week, 20 Jan 2005, 46 (2302), 7-8
Informex informs A number of announcements were made by companies at the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association’s Informex exhibition last week, these highlighting the custom chemical sector’s drive towards biopharmaceuticals and business development in Asia. Degussa’s exclusive synthesis and catalysts business is to spend $1.3 M on a new
R&D centre in Mumbai, India. This will include a kilo-scale plant. Albany Molecular Research has announced the setting up of a subsidiary in Singapore that will provide fee-forservice medicinal chemistry, combinatorial chemistry, process research, and scale-up. Albany has made an initial $5 M investment in Singapore and is to launch a similar operation in Hyderabad, India, later in 2005. Avecia announced the spin-off of Reaxa, a jv of its polymer chemistry group and Cambridge University. The new business will work on encapsulated precious-metal catalysts that Avecia has developed with a professor at Cambridge. Reaxa is expected to achieve sales of $20 M in 5 years. Chemical and Engineering News, 24 Jan 2005, 83 (4), 8 (Website: http://www.cen-online.org)
Chinese catalysts enter new development cycle Sinopec and Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd have signed an agreement on the purchase of catalyst assets valued at RMB Yuan 49.9 M. The Chinese catalyst sector is still quite diffuse. Total global output of polyethylene and polypropylene is about 80 M tonne/y and catalyst demand is about 6000 tonnes. The global petrochemical sector is in a rising sector. In China there is only 50% self-sufficiency rate in polyolefins. In Nov 2004, Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd’s 700,000 tonne/y ethylene renovation project was completed and brought onstream. Its ethylene capacity has already reached 900,000 tonne/y. Jinzhou Petrochemical Co Ltd has started building its 600,000 tonne/y continuous reforming unit. Jingmen Petrochemical Co Ltd has started production at its 1 M tonne/y delayed coking project. Consumption of catalysts is expected to increase substantially. Yanhua High-Tech owns the only BCH catalyst production unit in China. BCH is a catalyst used in polyethylene production. The company holds 70% of the domestic market. Total demand for ys842 catalyst in China is about 100 tonne/y and Yanhua High-Tech’s domestic market share is currently about 10%. China Chemical Reporter, 16 Jan 2005, 16 (2), 18
MARCH 2005