NEWS
IN BRIEF
Almac sets out stall Almac Group announced during its annual results meeting that it will make a £ 200 million capital investment over the next three years to meet increased client demand . This will take place at sites in Northern Ireland , the rest of the UK , Europe , North America and Asia . No breakdown is yet known of how the money will be spent . The company saw an 8.6 % rise in sales to £ 735 million in 2021 .
Amryris plant starts Amyris has started work at its new plant in Barra Bonita , Brazil . This comprises five precision fermentation ‘ mini-factories ’ that can simultaneously produce all 13 of the firm ’ s current market molecules . Its capacity is fully committed through the end of 2023 with the production of natural vanillin , sugarcane-based Reb M , squalane , squalene , hemisqualene and patchouli .
Up around the Bend Lonza has added a dedicated early-phase clinical manufacturing facility at its small molecules site in Bend , Oregon . In all , the facility has seven GMP and four non-GMP suites , with features including spray dried dispersion powders for oral delivery , dry granulation using a Gerteis roller compactor and compression into immediate release dosage forms through a Korsch tablet press and Vector LDCS coater .
DSM and Firmenich in mega-merger
DSM and Swiss-based flavours and fragrances house Firmenich have agreed to merge . The deal , which is expected to close in 1H 2023 , is valued at about $ 19.6 billion . DSM-Firmenich would have about € 11.4 billion / year in sales , comparable to IFF after its combination with DuPont ’ s Nutrition & Biosciences business early last year . The two firms have a combined network of 15 R & D facilities and a portfolio of more than 16,000 patents across . Although the merger has been positioned as one of equals , DSM shareholders will own 65.5 % of the new firm . It will have four main businesses :
• Perfumery & Beauty , with revenues of € 3.3 billion / year , combining Firmenich ’ s Perfumery & Ingredients business with DSM ’ s Personal Care & Aroma business
• DSM ’ s Food & Beverage plus Firmenich ’ s Taste & Beyond (€ 2.7 billion / year ), which brings together their activities in food and beverage
• Health , Nutrition & Care (€ 2.2 billion / year ), which will be active in the nutrition , dietary supplements , pharmaceuticals and medical devices markets
• Animal Nutrition & Health (€ 3.3 billion / year ), supplying eubiotics , enzymes and mycotoxin risk management , among other things “ At DSM-Firmenich ’ s core will be deep science capabilities , with significant cross-fertilisation opportunities in bioscience , fermentation , green chemistry , receptor biology , sensory perception and formulation , augmented by analytical sciences , data sciences and artificial intelligence ,” the two companies said . Organic sales are expected to grow at 5-7 % over the medium term , with high single-digit adjusted EBITDA growth . The EBITDA margin is expected to move to 22-23 %, supported by run-rate pre-tax synergies of about € 350 million / year of adjusted EBITDA by 2026 . One-time implementation costs of about € 250 million will be taken to realise synergies , particularly from the integration of the food and beverage business . Thomas Leysen , current chairman of the DSM supervisory board , will be chairman , with Firmenich chairman Patrick Firmenich as vice-chairman . DSM co-CEOs Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze , will also be co-CEOs at the new firm , including CFO and COO responsibilities respectively . Emmanuel Butstraen , currently president of Taste & Beyond at Firmenich is to be chief integration officer . Shortly before this , DSM had agreed to sell its Engineering Materials business to Advent International and Lanxess for an enterprise value of € 3.85 billion . This concluded the process of selling its Materials businesses that began with the sale of DSM Protective Materials to Avient in April .
6 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981