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Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals - 2003
William Ransom is to acquire the natural healthcare brands portfolio of J Pickles of Harrogate for £0.6m, but Pickles will continue to manufacture the products under a long-term supply agreement.
24-Dec-2003
Lubrizol is to acquire Avecia Additives, the Manchester-based manufacturer of colour additives with 110 staff, for undisclosed terms.
24-Dec-2003
LGC, the forensic sciences group with about 700 staff, is to be sold by 3i to Legal & General Ventures for £70m.
24-Dec-2003
Cytomyx Holdings is to raise £2m in a share placing to help fund the acquisition of Clinomics Biosciences of the US.
16-Dec-2003
Peter Black Healthcare, the Swadlincote-based manufacturer of vitamin supplements and herbal remedies with 240 staff, has been acquired by Perrigo of the US for undisclosed terms.
16-Dec-2003
Sinclair Pharmaceuticals has raised £22m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its drug development business.
05-Dec-2003
BioProgress is looking to raise £6.6m for the development of a pharmaceutical production plant in Cambridgeshire, having won a contract to supply FMC of the US.
04-Dec-2003
Invest NI is to support a £5.3m project by Kiel Laboratories of the US to set up a prescription medicines plant in Carrickfergus, with the creation of 100 jobs over the next three years.
04-Dec-2003
Galen Holdings has sold its Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing Services business to the company's founder and former Chairman for £20m.
03-Dec-2003
Purely Proteins of Cambridge has received a first round of venture funding from Avlar BioVentures and Yorkshire Fund Managers, in order to expand its business providing human proteins for pharmaceutical research.
28-Nov-2003
CeNes Pharmaceuticals has acquired TheraSci, the developer of drugs for the central nervous system, for up to £3.7m.
25-Nov-2003
Duke Street Capital has acquired Accantia, the Birmingham-based toiletries manufacturer, from ABN Amro Capital for £225m.
24-Nov-2003
Cambridge University has won government permission to develop a £24m laboratory for behavioural neuroscience, although it may not be built for some time.
24-Nov-2003
Invista, the DuPont lycra business with about 500 staff in Northern Ireland and 375 in Wilton, is to be acquired by Koch Industries of the US in a £2.7bn deal.
20-Nov-2003
The Specials Laboratory is to relocate its tailor-made pharmaceuticals business to a new £1m site in Northumberland next year, and the 35-strong workforce will expand.
18-Nov-2003
The Welsh Development Agency is in discussions with a number of companies interested in relocating to the newly-completed £3.3m Medi-Science Campus at Gwaun Elai, near Llantrisant.
13-Nov-2003
Transad International has acquired Personal Screening, the supplier of home health testing kits, from Wellbeing Screening for £0.6m.
13-Nov-2003
Chiron of the US is looking to sell its SBL vaccines division in Sweden, in order to help fund a £85m expansion plan that will safeguard 600 jobs at the recently-acquired Powderject plant on Merseyside.
13-Nov-2003
Simon Storage is planning a £98m expansion programme for its bulk chemical storage business, with financial backing from Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and Investec Structured Finance.
13-Nov-2003
Lux Biotechnology has secured about £0.6m of funding from Archangel Informal Investments, in order to expand its research capability, recruit more staff and exploit its biosensor biological detection technology.
03-Nov-2003
Tepnel Life Sciences is to acquire Orchid Diagnostics, the US biotechnology company, for £2.5m.
03-Nov-2003
Astex Technology has acquired MetaGen Pharmaceuticals, a spin-out from Schering, and about eight of MetaGen's 40 staff will transfer from Berlin to Cambridge.
31-Oct-2003
Intercare, the pharmaceuticals manufacturer, is to be acquired by Cardinal Health of the US for £306m.
30-Oct-2003
The Scottish Executive is to provide about £2m of regional selective assistance to PharmaImaging Group to set up a new £15m pharmaceutical research facility in Livingston, with the creation of up to 250 jobs.
30-Oct-2003
Allergy Therapeutics is planning to raise up to £15m in a flotation on Aim over the next 18 months, to fund the development of an allergy vaccine.
28-Oct-2003
Safa Group, the supplier of healthcare and first aid products, is to be acquired by Healthcare Enterprise Group in a £12m deal.
21-Oct-2003
AstraZeneca is to invest £60m in Abgenix, the US biotechnology company, in order to collaborate in the area of antibody drug development.
17-Oct-2003
Spencer Coatings has bought Eagle Industrial Paints of the West Midlands out of receivership.
16-Oct-2003
Lucite International is to build a £60m methyl methacrylate production plant in China, as part of an integrated chemical complex being built in Caojing.
03-Oct-2003
Biocatalysts, the supplier of enzymes to food manufacturers, is to relocate to a new £2m 23,000 sq ft building at Parc Nantgarw in Treforest next year, and expects to double the 26-strong workforce.
29-Sep-2003
Manchester Innovation is to consider a number of rival bids to build a £25m biotechnology centre on the Manchester University campus, including laboratories, offices and conference facilities.
25-Sep-2003
Cambridge Antibody Technology is to sell an 11% equity stake to Genzyme of the US for £23m, as part of a collaboration between the two companies in the development of drugs for fibrotic diseases.
23-Sep-2003
Abbott Laboratories is to create 125 new jobs through the £39m expansion of its Dartford Murex diagnostic treatments manufacturing plant in Kent by the end of next year.
22-Sep-2003
Finance Wales is to support the expansion of MGS Micropure, the Cwmfelinfach-based manufacturer of preservatives for cleaning products, and six new jobs will be created.
08-Sep-2003
Intercare is looking to spend up to £40m on acquisitions to expand its pharmaceutical manufacturing business.
05-Sep-2003
Biotrace International has acquired International BioProducts, the US germ detection company, for £6.4m.
05-Sep-2003
Roche, the Swiss pharmaceuticals group, has awarded a £40m contract to PCM to build a new headquarters for 1,100 staff in Welwyn Garden City by late 2005.
04-Sep-2003
Chemical Synthesis Services is planning to invest £25m in the expansion of the former research and services division of Galen in Craigavon.
01-Sep-2003
Genzyme has won US and European approval to start producing ingredients for a kidney drug at its new £55m plant in Haverhill.
25-Aug-2003
Evolutec has raised a further £0.7m to fund the expansion of its Oxford-based biotechnology business, and hopes to float on Aim next year.
25-Aug-2003
Simbec Research, the Merthyr-based pharmaceuticals research company with 80 staff, has undergone a management buy-out from Merck Sante SAS of France for undisclosed terms.
21-Aug-2003
The Darwin Centre for Biology & Medicine is seeking European funding to build a £15m international science centre in Pembrokeshire, with the creation of 45 jobs.
18-Aug-2003
Hickson & Welch, the Castleford-based chemicals manufacturer with 300 staff, has undergone a £21m management buy-out backed by Dunedin Capital Partners.
15-Aug-2003
Xenova has announced a £8.5m takeover bid for KS Biomedix, and expects to raise at least £9m in a share issue to fund the development of KSB's leading drug.
15-Aug-2003
The School of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool is seeking a £25m grant that would enable it to double in size.
13-Aug-2003
Ineos Chlor has secured a £50m DTI grant to expand its chlorine production plant in Runcorn, which will involve a £389m investment in new equipment.
01-Aug-2003
Onyx Scientific is to create a further 20 jobs at a new pharmaceuticals research laboratory in Sunderland over the next two years, and expects additional investment to provide 120 vacancies over the next seven years.
24-Jul-2003
Powderject's new US parent Chiron is to relocate 12 senior managers from Uxbridge to the Powderject office in Oxford.
16-Jul-2003
Chemring is to sell its Alloy Surfaces chemicals business in the US to Akron Paint & Varnish for up to £2.5m.
14-Jul-2003
Osmetech, the developer of electronic odour sensors, has closed its Crewe headquarters with the loss of 20 jobs, in order to relocate its research and development operation to the US.
10-Jul-2003
CP Pharmaceuticals, the Wrexham-based supplier of drugs to hospitals, has been acquired by Wockhardt of India for £11m.
10-Jul-2003
Axis-Shield has sold its autoimmune diagnostics business to the Euro-Diagnostica Group for £2.2m.
07-Jul-2003
Vernalis is to merge with British Biotech to create a combined biotechnology group with a market capitalisation of £90m, and the staffing levels will be cut from 204 to 130.
04-Jul-2003
Biotrace International has acquired Maltec, the Danish supplier of microbiological and life sciences products, for a nominal sum.
03-Jul-2003
Avecia has agreed to sell its Metal Extraction Products and Intermediates & Stabilizers operations in the US to Cytec for about £60m, which will involve the transfer of 200 staff.
01-Jul-2003
Norgine has raised a further £4.3m to invest in new production lines and improvements at its pharmaceuticals manufacturing plant near Caerphilly, with the creation of 66 jobs.
26-Jun-2003
National Starch & Chemical is to sell its Plasticoat cheese coatings business to DSM for undisclosed terms.
23-Jun-2003
PPL Therapeutics is said to be planning to shed at least 90 jobs at its research facility in Roslin, after partner Bayer stopped a project to develop treatments for lung disorders.
20-Jun-2003
Ferraris is to acquire Bionostics, the US supplier of liquid formulations to test the accuracy of medical diagnostic equipment, for £19m.
16-Jun-2003
Powderject is planning to invest £85m at its vaccine production plant in Liverpool over the next five years, with the creation of an unspecified number of jobs.
11-Jun-2003
Protherics is seeking financial assistance from the Welsh Assembly to expand its biotechnology-based production plant in Llandysul.
09-Jun-2003
AstraZeneca is planning to invest £19m in a new research facility in India to develop treatments for tuberculosis.
02-Jun-2003
Eli Lilly is to set up a European Centre for Neuroscience at Windlesham, Surrey, with the creation of 120 scientific jobs over the next five years.
29-May-2003
Eli Lilly is to invest more than £30m in the expansion of its biotechnology production plant in south Liverpool, with the creation of up to 75 new jobs.
23-May-2003
Powderject, the vaccine maker, is to be acquired by Chiron of the US for more than £540m.
20-May-2003
Evolution Group's IP2IPO intellectual property subsidiary is to invest £5m in companies spun out from King's College London over the next five years, enabling King's to commercialise its expertise in medical research and life sciences.
16-May-2003
Angel Biotechnology is seeking a second site in Northumberland to expand its medical research business, with the creation of up to 50 new jobs.
15-May-2003
British Biotech is forming an alliance with MerLion Pharmaceuticals of Singapore to develop anti-bacterial treatments from natural products.
15-May-2003
Imperial College London is linking up with Bioscience Managers Limited to create a £50m venture capital fund to invest in early-stage medical and life science companies.
12-May-2003
Axis-Shield is to relocate its biotechnology laboratory division from Norway to Dundee by the end of the year, with the creation of up to 20 jobs.
09-May-2003
Pfizer is to close the Pharmacia drug development centre in High Wycombe with the loss of 164 jobs, although some jobs will be relocated to its site in Kent.
09-May-2003
Protherics is to acquire Enact Pharma, the biopharmaceuticals company, for £7.9m, and has also announced plans to raise £3m in a share offer.
06-May-2003
Vernalis is planning to raise £14m in a share offer to fund the expansion of its drug development business, while talks are taking place about a possible bid for the company.
02-May-2003
PPL Therapeutics has dropped plans to build a £42m biotechnology plant near Edinburgh, and may now outsource its manufacturing operations.
29-Apr-2003
Shire Pharmaceuticals has awarded a $18m contract to AMEC to build a global vaccines research centre at its site in Laval, Canada.
17-Apr-2003
SembCorp Utilities of Singapore has acquired the Enron Teesside Operations chemicals site at Wilton for £83m, securing the future of 579 jobs.
16-Apr-2003
Oxxon Pharmaccines has raised £15m in a private financing exercise to expand its Oxford-based biotechnology business.
15-Apr-2003
Network Health & Beauty, the Farnborough-based distributor of beauty and personal care products with 47 staff, has been acquired by EPIC Brand Investments and the Lornamead Group.
15-Apr-2003
Aroma & Fine Chemicals has secured a £5.7m funding package from the Royal Bank of Scotland to expand its Widnes-based speciality chemicals manufacturing business.
14-Apr-2003
Oxford Glycosciences has recommended that shareholders accept a £101m takeover offer from Celltech.
14-Apr-2003
PPL Therapeutics is to sell its xenograft and stem cell activities to a newly-formed US company called Regenecor Holdings, in which PPL will hold an equity stake.
11-Apr-2003
MedPharma is planning to raise £8.8m in a flotation on Aim next month, in order to fund the expansion of its Oxfordshire-based pharmaceuticals business.
07-Apr-2003
Osmetech has announced a £2.2m deal to acquire Roche's US-based OPTI range of blood gas analysers.
04-Apr-2003
ReNeuron, the biotechnology company, has agreed terms for a £3.6m management buy-out backed by private equity vehicle St James's.
02-Apr-2003
British Vita has acquired Synco, the Italian colour and additive masterbatch producer, from Cognis for £1.3m.
01-Apr-2003
BP is planning to build a £200m purified terephthalic acid production plant at its Geel site in Belgium by 2006, and design work will be carried out by Technip Italy.
28-Mar-2003
BioWisdom has raised £2.5m to fund the expansion of its ontologies business, in which software applications are used to improve access to biomedical information.
28-Mar-2003
ML Laboratories is to sell its Icodextrin glucose polymer manufacturing business in Liverpool to Baxter Healthcare for £6.5m.
25-Mar-2003
British Biotech is to merge with RiboTargets, creating a combined biotechnology group with a market value of £52m.
24-Mar-2003
The East of England Development Agency is promoting the case for the development of a £600m national nanotechnology research centre in Cambridge, and production could be located on Humberside and administration in Cranfield.
19-Mar-2003
Miza Pharmaceuticals has been bought out of administration by a management-led consortium operating under the name of Inyx Pharma, securing 138 jobs at its Runcorn factory.
14-Mar-2003
The Department of Trade & Industry has announced plans for a £30m biosciences facility at the Estuary Business Park on Merseyside, including three laboratories, one production plant and the creation of 1,000 jobs.
13-Mar-2003
Crispin & Borst has won a £1.8m contract to refurbish a chemistry laboratory in Sutton, Surrey, for the Institute of Cancer Research.
13-Mar-2003
Cytomyx has expanded its life sciences business with the £0.1m acquisition from Cytocell of assets for the manufacture of kits utilising DNA probe technology.
12-Mar-2003
Norgine is creating 200 new jobs at its pharmaceuticals plant in Caerphilly, following a recent £8m investment in a packing facility.
12-Mar-2003
Peri-dent is to invest £2m in the expansion of its oral-care products factory in Galashiels, with the creation of up to 60 jobs.
12-Mar-2003
Creightons of West Sussex has bought Nemesis Toiletries out of receivership for £0.2m, saving 85 jobs at the Potter & Moore business in Peterborough.
11-Mar-2003
Alliance UniChem is seeking acquisitions to expand its drugs distribution business in eastern Europe, and is particularly interested in Poland, Russia and the Baltics.
11-Mar-2003
Spencer Coatings has acquired Pearl Paints of Wales out of receivership for a nominal sum, and production will be relocated to Aberdeen.
06-Mar-2003
Distillex, the Leyland-based solvent recovery company with 44 staff, has been acquired by P&R Disposal Services of St Helens for undisclosed terms.
05-Mar-2003
ClinPhone, the clinical trials company, is to expand its Nottingham headquarters into a new 5,843 sq ft office nearby.
05-Mar-2003
Theratase is considering plans to extend its Biozyme Laboratories plant in Blaenavon by 50%, to increase production of enzymes and biochemicals for the diagnostic and pharmaceutical industries.
04-Mar-2003
Dundee University has finalised plans to invest £30m in the development of a new life sciences centre and computing building over the next three years.
27-Feb-2003
Provalis has secured a £1m Welsh Assembly grant to expand production of medical testing kits at its Deeside factory.
26-Feb-2003
Maelor, the Wrexham-based medical research company, is planning to raise £2.9m in a share issue to fund the development of its existing product portfolio, acquire additional products and grow overseas markets.
07-Feb-2003
Fisher Scientific is creating 24 new jobs for development chemists, following the expansion of its chemical manufacturing and distribution operation in Loughborough.
06-Feb-2003
Phoqus Pharmaceuticals has raised £7m to fund the expansion of its tablet manufacturing process, which is designed to prevent drug counterfeiting.
06-Feb-2003
Degussa is to sell speciality chemical operations in Barry, South Wales, and Hythe, Southampton, to Cognis for undisclosed terms, as part of the regulatory agreement for the acquisition of Laporte in 2001.
05-Feb-2003
BP has agreed to sell the Fosroc Mining chemicals division of Burmah Castrol, including 13 manufacturing sites in seven countries, to a management buy-out backed by Close Brothers Private Equity for £32m.
31-Jan-2003
DCC has acquired Shannon Environmental Services, the Irish waste chemical treatment company, for about £4m.
29-Jan-2003
Amarin has raised £13m in a share placing to fund the launch of new biotechnology-based products and expand its neurology sales force.
29-Jan-2003
DuPont UK is to relocate its agricultural division and up to 100 jobs from Stevenage to Milton Keynes by the middle of next year, and its Hemel Hempstead branch will also move there.
28-Jan-2003
ICON has acquired Medeval Group, the Manchester-based provider of clinical pharmacology services to the pharmaceutical industry, for about £10m.
27-Jan-2003
Cambridge Antibody Technology has offered to acquire Oxford Glycosciences for £110m, and the group's combined cash reserve of £260m will be used to license new drugs or acquire another biotechnology company.
24-Jan-2003
The Office of Fair Trading has recommended complete deregulation of the pharmacy market in order to give consumers more choice about where to get NHS prescriptions, which is expected to lead to supermarket groups setting up their own dispensing chemists.
20-Jan-2003
Skyepharma has invested £2.5m in Micap of Newton-le-Willows, in order to investigate the pharmaceutical applications of Micap's micro-encapsulation technology.
16-Jan-2003
United Phosphorus has announced a £10m refinancing package to fund the expansion of its Cheshire-based pesticides business.
15-Jan-2003
Biotica Technology has raised £3m of venture capital to expand its Cambridge-based drug discovery business, which is focusing on polyketide biosynthesis.
09-Jan-2003
BP is to sell Sericol, the speciality printing chemicals business with 1,200 staff worldwide and a factory in Broadstairs, to US investment firm Saratoga Partners for £75m.
08-Jan-2003
Enact Pharma has acquired De Montfort Biopharma of Leicestershire for an initial £0.5m.
07-Jan-2003
Replizyme has raised £1m from investors to expand its drug discovery business in York, and its full-time scientific staff will rise from six to 15.
07-Jan-2003
Medipure is planning to set up a factory in Denbigh to develop new disinfectants for hospitals, with the creation of about 20 jobs over the next two years.
06-Jan-2003