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December 21, 2009
Year In Review
Although one of the worst years in memory for the chemical industry, 2009 had a few bright spots.
Reorganization Complications
Bankruptcy: LyondellBasell and Tronox work with creditors while possible buyers look on.
Sensient Opens New Facilities
Lanxess Scales Back On Assets...
...But Lenzing Is Beefing Up
December 14, 2009
Latching On To A Growth Market
Custom chemical manufacturers that can make antibody-drug conjugates see promising business.
Biorefiners Win Government Funds
Green Goal: Grants will advance fuels and chemicals from renewable raw materials.
Dow Corning CEO Burns Calls For Green Jobs
Dow Spins Off Pfenex Business
December 7, 2009
The New Dow
After a painful year, company says it has the portfolio it needs for unprecedented expansion of its business.
Closed For Business
Scavenging shuttered chemical plants can be profitable, but not in this economy.
ACC Bulks Up
Membership Drive: Trade group seeks smaller members as chemical industry's fortunes improve
Big Firms Invest In Europe
November 30, 2009
There's Money In Safer Food
As concern grows over food recalls, instrument makers eye a growing market for test equipment.
Drug R&D Heats Up In Beijing
Globalization: PPD buys Bioduro, Merck Serono builds new lab in Chinese capital.
Clariant To Cut 570 Jobs
BASF To Shutter Paper Coatings Sites
Pfizer Plans New China R&D Center
Biopharma Plant Slated For Abu Dhabi
November 23, 2009
Breakthroughs In Spanish Biotech
PharmaMar and Genetrix score in a sector of reticent investors and business-resistant academics.
Dow In Sharp Focus
Business: Firm says it will invest more in high-growth, value-added chemistry.
Genomics Pioneer deCode Goes Bust
Honeywell To Build UOP Lab In India
Suntech To Build Its First U.S. Plant
Merck Cholesterol Drug Takes A Hit
November 16, 2009
Pfizer Slashes R&D
Pharmaceuticals: Company to close six research sites and consolidate others as part of integration with Wyeth.
Some Good News In Third Quarter
Chemical earnings are still weak, but quarter-over-quarter comparison is encouraging.
A Mixed Bag From Pharma
U.S. companies saw limited growth in third-quarter sales, while flu therapies boosted European results.
U.S. Solar Plants Close
November 9, 2009
Pharma Strategy
Novartis makes major R&D and vaccines investments in China.
Japanese Earnings Surprise
Fiscal First Half: Firms performed better than feared.
J&J Revamps, Cuts Jobs
DuPont Forecasts Strong Growth
Lilly Opens Labs In California
Industry Gets Federal Energy Grants
November 2, 2009
European Firms Test The Bottom
Third Quarter: Optimism appears in some earnings reports.
A New Normal
Record unemployment requires a realistic attitude and creative thinking.
Down But Not Out
Chemistry jobs took a beating this year, prompting out-of-work chemists to reinvent themselves .
Working For Uncle Sam
The recession may lead more chemists to pursue careers as civil servants.
BASF To Shut Down Maleic Anhydride Plant
Overcapacity and low profits blamed for closing in Feluy, Belgium, by end of 2009.
Lonza Cuts Jobs, Spending
October 26, 2009
Enterprise Software In The Annus Horribilis
Decades of big investment in information technology are paying off in the chemical industry's response to the recession.
A Mixed Earnings Picture
Recovery Watch: The third quarter brings few signs of stronger demand.
Academic R&D Spending Trends
Outlays rose 2.4% for chemistry and grew 3.5% for science and engineering as a whole in 2007.
October 19, 2009
Putting A Price On Cutting CO2
Climate Change: Economists predict modest overall impacts but deep cuts for some.
Fine Chemicals Tough It Out
CPhI: After a difficult year, there could be signs of life for pharmaceutical chemical producers.
Rising To The Challenge
In biotech, a culture of creativity and team building helps top companies to work for weather a tough economy.
October 12, 2009
Federal R&D Funding
Budget for 2010 gets moving after slow start; most research funding is up.
October 5, 2009
Solvay Sells Its Drug Unit To Abbott Labs
Acquisition: Firm is latest European conglomerate to split chemicals and drugs.
Cleantech Investments Surge
Government support lured in venture investors in the third quarter
September 28, 2009
Stateside Surge In Pharma Chemicals
Investment flows into the U.S. as drugmakers reassess their supply chains.
Biotech Stocks
Falling share prices could lead to market delisting for many firms.
September 21, 2009
Lilly Sets Out To Reorganize
Pharmaceuticals: Plan will establish five business units and cut $1 billion in costs, 5,500 jobs.
Positive Earnings Estimates
Recovery: With higher sales volumes in the third quarter, Solutia, Lubrizol boost 2009 earnings estimates.
Vanishing Plants
Latest closures are ending chemical production at the only U.S. facilities of their kind.
Stepping On The Gas
North american petrochemical makers are benefiting from domestic natural gas development.
September 14, 2009
Chemtura Charts A Comeback
CEO Craig Rogerson hopes firm will emerge from bankruptcy in March 2010.
Thermo, PerkinElmer Boost Diagnostics
Acquisition: Deals mark convergence of life sciences tools and medical diagnostics.
Biogen Bids For Facet
Pharmaceuticals: Deal is designed to boost its position in the MS drug market.
Solar Energy
Showa Shell invests $1 billion in new thin-film plant.
September 7, 2009
Huntsman To Buy Most Of Tronox
Acquisition: Deal will make Huntsman the world's second largest maker of titanium dioxide.
Dainippon Takes Over Sepracor
Acquisition: The purchase gives Japanese firm key U.S. presence.
Danaher Invests In Mass Spec
Instrumentation: $1.1 billion deal brings AB Sciex and more.
Up From The Ashes
U.S. soda ash industry fights its way out of the recession.
August 24, 2009
Chemical Deals Keeping Pace
Credit crunch hobbles big mergers, but firms continue to shop strategically.
Standing The Heat
DSM is attempting what many have tried and failed to do: launch a new polymer.
Faculty Furloughs
Public universities combat budget cuts by forcing employees to take unpaid time off.
August 17, 2009
Equipping The Science Agenda
Instrument makers hope government stimulus funds will spur sales and development.
Deal Fever Strikes Japan
Union of Mitsubishi Chemical and Mitsubishi Rayon could benefit both.
Monsanto's Phosphate Operation
Life sciences company will process phosphorus for Roundup herbicide from a new mine in Idaho.
Demand Stabilizes In Second Quarter
As destocking ends, chemical firms look for signs of growth.
Pharma Continues To Flounder
U.S. companies have lackluster results in the second quarter, but flu treatments could help european firms.
DuPont Rejiggers Business Operations
August 10, 2009
European Decline Persists
Reports show poor earnings, but some positive signals are on the horizon.
Arkema Will Acquire Dow Acrylics Unit
Sale satisfies FTC demand following Dow's Rohm and Haas purchase.
Biotech Firms Dip Toes In Investment Waters
Priorities For 2011 Science Budget
August 3, 2009
Global Top 50
Profits slump in C&EN's first ranking since the onset of the financial crisis.
Agilent To Acquire Varian For $1.5 Billion
Deal brings Agilent a line of atomic and molecular spectroscopy instruments, and bolsters its push into the bioanalytical instrumentation market.
Second-Quarter Results
Dow Chemical and BASF earnings reflect bad, but improving, economy.
La Seda Shutting Down Plastics Output
July 27, 2009
Buying A Sustainable Economy
The record recovery act energy spending may trigger a new clean-energy industry.
Chemical Firms Eke Out Earnings
With demand still weak, companies shrink overhead.
Global Stimulus Supports Innovation
Nations see research and technology as key to long-term economic recovery.
Epix Goes Bust
July 20, 2009
Exxon Invests In Algal Biofuels
Project represents a new direction for oil giant.
LyondellBasell Under Fire
Bankrupt firm's plan to close facilities in Texas has neighbors in an uproar.
Women In Industry
Women made some strides at the very top but have little to show elsewhere.
Green Chemistry In The Mainstream
Cleaner, cheaper, smarter chemistry is no longer a pie-in-the-sky idea.
Sipchem, Hanwha Team Up For Saudi Project
Altana Will Buy U.S. Ink Maker
Praxair Invests In Solar Sector
Japanese Drugmaker to Acquire U.S. Firm
July 13, 2009
Electronic Materials Tough It Out
Makers of electronic chemicals remain committed to innovation despite hard times.
BASF To Cut Jobs
Layoffs of 3,700 workers are part of plan to integrate Ciba.
Recession Hits Chemical Workers
Production cutbacks are to blame for loss of 41,300 jobs.
J&J Bets With Elan
Alzheimer's investment helps small firm survive.
July 6, 2009
Facts & Figures Of The Chemical Industry
For the chemical industry, 2008 started strong, but recession dragged it down.
Economists See End To Recession
ACC predicts U.S. chemical output will rise 1.6% in 2010.
Materials Engineering
GE taps Detroit-area talent for a new manufacturing R&D center
Safe Havens
Custom chemical producers at Chemspec showcase pharma and agchem in a down year.
June 29, 2009
An Entrepreneurial Nonprofit
Capitalizing on its position as a technology adviser to government and business, Battelle commercializes new ideas
Renewable Electricity Expansion
National Research Council study predicts wind, solar growth in near term
Monsanto Weighs Future Of Roundup
Clariant Plans Further Job Cuts
June 22, 2009
Engineering Polymers
All plastics businesses have been hit by the recession; some will recover better than others.
The Ole Standby
Nylon may be on the ropes, but observers say it isn't down for the count.
Slowing Down
As current uses of polycarbonate wane, producers search for new ones.
A Mature Plastic
Makers of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene have struggled for a long time, and the recession isn't helping.
BASF Is Closing Polystyrene Unit
BASF Strikes Deal On Trimethylolpropane
June 15, 2009
Dow's Plan For Coatings Growth
Launch of new business follows acquisition of Rohm and Haas.
Dow Corning Refocuses On Silicone Innovation
SABIC Will Close U.K. Polymer Plant
Solazyme Nets Big Bucks From Investors
Anadys, Adolor Restructure, Cut Jobs
Recession Chemistry 101
Some department chairs say they're coping, while others are just hanging on.
June 8, 2009
Impact Of GM's Bankruptcy
Action further resigns chemical makers to lower demand from a smaller U.S. auto industry.
Japanese Petrochemicals
Mitsubishi Chemical and Asahi Kasei mull merger of petrochemical operations.
ExxonMobil Boosts Its China Presence
Unfazed by economic slowdown, company starts up giant facilities, invests in Shanghai R&D center.
DOE Releases $800 Million In Seven Days
NIST Seeks Proposals For Stimulus Funds
June 1, 2009
New Management For Ranbaxy
Losses prompt parent firm, Japan's Daiichi Sankyo, to appoint new chairman and CEO.
Solar Booms Worldwide
Arizona Chemical Closes A Plant
NIH Windfall
Stimulus money creates short-term gains, long-term challenges for biomedical research agency.
May 25, 2009
Sobering BIO
The financial crisis meant fewer attendees at the biotech industry's annual meeting.
Catalyst For Change
Eyeing the end of the recession, Süd-Chemie looks to advanced technologies for growth.
Rushing To Market
Investing heavily, Russian initiative hopes to catch up in nanotechnology commercialization.
Goldman Sachs Sees Upside For Specialty Chemicals
Brighter Times For Federal R&D
Obama's first budget affirms his support for science, particularly in the areas of energy and climate change.
May 18, 2009
Sales Are Scarce In First Quarter
Chemical firms cling to shrinking profits, look for glimmer of an upturn.
Drug Firms Face Down Economy
Economic repercussions took a toll on first-quarter sales and earnings.
NSF Rolls Out Stimulus Plan
Agency will use money to support mix of new and existing programs.
RSC Acquires Chemical Database
Repository offers free structure and property data.
Arkema Restructures In North America
Arkema has begun a round of about 200 layoffs in North America...
Two Chemical Firms Cut Texas Output
LyondellBasell Industries and Hexion Specialty Chemicals are both curtailing chemical production in the face of weak demand...
GE To Open New Battery Plant
GE is planning to build a battery manufacturing plant near Albany, N.Y., for the company's new transportation battery business...
Northfield Closes Blood Replacer Plant
Northfield Laboratories is closing its plant in Mount Prospect, Ill., and laying off its entire staff there...
May 11, 2009
Business Groups Oppose Tax Hikes
Obama says tax code encourages shift of jobs overseas.
Biotech Outlook
As access to most types of capital disappears, industry consolidation is likely in 2009.
DuPont Will Cut 2,000 More Jobs
Detailed restructuring plan was announced on April 21 as part of its first-quarter earnings report...
Rhodia Shuts Nylon Operation In Canada
Rhodia is shutting down a nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 engineering resin compounding plant in Mississauga, Ontario...
May 4, 2009
Top 50 Chemical Producers
C&EN's annual ranking of U.S. chemical firms shows early strains from the economy.
Chemical Society Cutbacks
Global economic downturn necessitates job and benefit cuts at world's largest scientific society.
Dow, BASF In The Black
Top two chemical firms eke out profits in the first quarter despite steep declines in demand.
Celanese PVOH Business Goes To Japan's Sekisui
Sale price shows decline in business's value since 2000.
LyondellBasell Adds To Bankruptcy Filing
LyondellBasell has added its Luxembourg-based holding company to the existing chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization of its U.S. affiliates...
April 27, 2009
Back From China
Manufacturing of pharmaceutical chemicals and related goods is starting to trickle back to the U.S.
Chemical Earnings Continue To Slide
Companies cut to the bone to counter shrinking demand.
Novozymes Sees China Opportunity
Novozymes, the world's largest enzymes producer, has released a report predicting that China can develop a cellulosic ethanol industry that employs 6 million people by 2020..
April 20, 2009
New Asian Team
Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical and China's Sinopec will join forces in petrochemicals.
DuPont Asks Staff To Take Unpaid Leave
Because of the continued poor global economy, DuPont has asked salaried and professional employees worldwide to voluntarily take unpaid time off during the remainder of 2009...
Creditors Give Georgia Gulf A Break
Georgia Gulf has received amendments from its creditors that will allow it to delay interest payments on two of its bonds for about a month...
J&J And Amgen Cut Staff In U.S.
Johnson & Johnson will eliminate about 900 positions in its Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals division...
April 13, 2009
Going It Alone
After failing to get itself acquired, Huntsman Corp. has a plan to survive the downturn.
Chemical Jobs Continue To Fall
U.S. payroll losses total 11,300 in first quarter.
LyondellBasell Eying Deeper Cost-Cutting
LyondellBasell, which is under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, is targeting...
Germany's Merck Will Pare Pigments
To adapt production to demand, Germany's Merck is cutting back pigment output worldwide mostly because...
Asahi, Shin-Etsu Warn On Profits
Japan's Asahi Kasei expects to post a net profit of $70 million on sales of $15.6 billion in the fiscal year that just ended on March 31...
DSM Wins Production Contract With Shire
The British drug company Shire will close a plant in Owings Mills, Md., and transfer production of finished-dose drugs to...
April 6, 2009
Chemical Jobs Continue To Fall
U.S. payroll losses total 11,300 in first quarter.
Evotec And Dyax Announce Job Cuts
Evotec has launched a restructuring program aimed at lowering sales and accounting costs by 10% and R&D costs by more than 30%...
Three Plants Close In Europe
Rohm and Haas will close its powder coatings plant in Castellón, Spain, and build a smaller facility in the same area...
March 30, 2009
Lyondell And BASF Shut Ethylene Plants
LyondellBasell Industries will permanently close its olefins cracker in Chocolate Bayou, Texas, by the beginning of August...
Rhodia Restructures French Operations
Rhodia and its employee works council are discussing plans to improve the competitiveness of the firm's nylon and Novecare units in France...
Cortex And Poniard Cut Their Workforces
Cortex Pharmaceuticals is restructuring its operations and halving its workforce of about 30...
March 23, 2009
Trauma Continues For Chemical Firms
Salary reductions increase as a cost-control measure.
Chemtura's Bankruptcy
Firm cut dividends, jobs and put businesses up for sale, but it was not enough.
Tough Times For Petrochemicals
The long-anticipated petrochemical downturn has finally arrived, heralded by a deep recession.
Synta Cuts Workforce After Suspending Trial
Synta Pharmaceuticals will eliminate 90 positions following the suspension of Phase III clinical trials of elesclomol...
March 16, 2009
Dow, Rohm And Haas Settle
Revised terms pave the way for Dow's big specialty chemical acquisition.
Who's Next?
Veterans of past layoffs tell those facing the ax in the pharma industry what they can expect.
March 10, 2009
Eastman To Cut Another $100 Million In Costs
Plan calls for up to 300 job cuts and 5% employee salary reductions.
March 9, 2009
Industry's Outlook Worsens
Main industry trade group drops its forecast for 2009 chemical output.
Fiscal 2010 Budget Preview
Obama proposes higher spending for science, revenues from CO2 emissions.
Slow Economy Hits More Chemical Firms
The economic slowdown continues to take a toll on chemical firms....
March 3, 2009
Chemical Industry Outlook Worsens
Main industry trade group drops its forecast for 2009 chemical output.
March 2, 2009
Climate Change, Energy Priorities
President links issues to nation's economic future as Congress takes action.
European Earnings
Fourth quarter sinks annual results.
Abu Dhabi Firm Agrees To Buy Nova
Deal allows Canadian chemical company to live on.
Mergers Retreat From Heights
Tight credit, lack of demand dampen once-hot deal market.
Chemical, Pharmaceutical Stocks Hit Long-Time Lows
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's 3.4% fall on Monday, Feb. 23, took it down to 7,114.78...
Two Firms May Lose Stock Listing
The economic slowdown has hit the stocks of Chemtura and Georgia Gulf hard...
Dow Corning Will Slash 800 Jobs
Dow Corning plans to eliminate 800 jobs across its 40-plus global locations...
Small Drug Firms Face Operating Setbacks
La Jolla Pharmaceutical has eliminated most of its workforce, about 90 jobs...
February 23, 2009
Make Your Résumé Work For You
A good résumé is a marketing tool that gets you noticed, even in a weak job market.
Energy Jobs
DOE gears up to spend big on infrastructure, renewable energy projects.
Industrial R&D Spending Stalls
Investments in research will be flat in 2009.
Fourth-Quarter Earnings Tank
Steep drop in demand from economic downturn sends chemical firms racing to cut costs.
Drug Firms Revamp
After a difficult 2008, big firms are taking aggressive restructuring steps.
Rhodia Idles Workers In Charleston
Rhodia has temporarily laid off 28 of 125 workers at its Charleston, S.C., site...
Rockwood Cuts Jobs, Freezes Salaries
Rockwood Holdings has reduced workhours, eliminated jobs, and initiated salary freezes...
February 16, 2009
Companies Halt Plans For Plants
Seeking to cut costs, chemical makers delay projects.
Congress Breaks Stimulus Logjam
Science, energy, education get big boost in sweeping package.
Chemtura's Debt
With a deadline looming, firm seeks to avoid bankruptcy, sale of the company.
Pinching Pennies
Chemical firms plan a 25.1% capital spending cut and a 1.8% drop in R&D spending in 2009.
Insights: Budget Mess
The fiscal 2010 budget is late and the process is broken.
More Pharmaceutical Firms Cut jobs
More cutbacks are under way at drug companies to address current business issues...
February 10, 2009
Obama Pushes Stimulus At Energy Department
President underscores future role of agency in transforming nation's energy industry.
February 9, 2009
Demand Collapses In Fourth Quarter
Chemical executives rue the worst quarter in decades.
February 2, 2009
Pfizer To Buy Rival Wyeth
Deal will create a drug giant with $71 billion in annual sales.
Dow, Rohm And Haas Deal Gets Ugly
Rohm and Haas says a deal is a deal, despite Dow's woes.
The Language Of Hard Times
No matter how chemical companies say it, it's all about the Benjamins.
DuPont Posts $249 Million Loss
Declines in construction, auto sales, and consumer spending led to a drop in earnings for DuPont in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Ashland Plans New Cuts ...
Wrestling with the combined effects of the economic downturn and its recent acquisition of Hercules...
... As Clariant Plans Cuts Of Its Own
Tough economic conditions are also forcing Clariant to cut 1,000 jobs and eliminate a dividend payment for 2008.
Cabot To Close Four Plants
On the heels of slumping earnings, carbon black and silica maker Cabot says it will close four plants...
January 30, 2009
Roche Lowers Genentech Bid
New price reflects a tougher environment for biotech companies.
January 26, 2009
Chemical Makers Stage More Cuts
Economic downturn brings additional job reductions.
CF Industries Wants Terra
Combined firm would be world's largest nitrogen producer.
Postdocs Feel Job Crunch
As recession deepends, postdocs find themselves caught in a difficult academic job market.
BASF Sees More Woes
BASF Chairman Jürgen Hambrecht says his company's global business declined significantly in December 2008...
Celanese Mulls Plant Closures
The economic downturn is forcing Celanese to consider closing acetyls plants in France and Mexico.
January 19, 2009
15,000 Jobs Lost
Chemical payroll losses mirror those in U.S. economy.
Pharma Research
Pfizer will eliminate up to 800 R&D positions in 2009.
Staying Alive
The biopharmaceutical sector scales back research to manage cash and ride out the economic downturn.
January 12, 2009
World Chemical Outlook
For the global chemical industry, the very bad day started early in the fourth quarter of 2008, and it may last another six months.
Debt Crushes LyondellBasell
Chapter 11 filing seeks to protect company.
Cytec and Nova To Cut Staff
Cytec Industries announced a restructuring plan...
January 6, 2009
DC Chemical Sells Stake In Columbian Chemicals
South Korean chemical maker sells its holdings in carbon black maker to reduce debt.
January 5, 2009
Fertilizer Makers Cut Production
Farmers are postponing nutrient application until spring.
More Firms Make Cuts To Cope With Economy
Deteriorating customer demand has forced more chemical companies to make cutbacks...
Avigen, Targanta Make Deep Cuts
Avigen will halt clinical trials on AV650, a neuromuscular treatment, and sell an early-stage developmental compound...