Total expands renewable fuel R&D with $105m – Watson launches generic Lipitor – And Reach dossiers not up to scratch

GREENTECH – French oil super major Total and Amyris, which makes renewable chemical products, have agreed to expand an ongoing R&D partnership with an injection of $105 million (£67 million) from Total. The extra money will be added to the $180 million already in the pot for developing diesel from plant sugars. In addition, the two companies have agreed to form a 50–50 joint venture for work on a range of renewable products, including fuels and chemicals.

PHARMACEUTICAL – Vivimed – an Indian company focused on chemicals for the personal care market – has bought Spanish active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturer Uquifa. Vivimed has made several acquisitions in recent years. In 2008, it bought UK dye manufacturer James Robinson, and then a year later it bought US firm Har-Met. The company says the acquisition of Uquifa, which will become the API division of Vivimed, is based on strong expected growth in the global healthcare market.

CHEMICAL – Swiss speciality chemicals company Sika has bought Duochem, a privately owned Canadian company that makes polymer flooring and waterproofing products for the construction industry. Duochem generates annual sales of CHF9 million (£6 million).

PHARMACEUTICAL – US generics company Watson has begun what it is rather breathlessly calling the ‘largest generic product launch in US history’. The company has starting shipping a generic version of the mighty Lipitor (atorvastatin). If it isn’t the ‘largest generic product launch’, it’s certainly the most discussed. Lipitor, which is used to lower cholesterol, has been the biggest selling drug in the world for some time – in 2010, it pulled in $10.7 billion in sales for Pfizer.

CHEMICAL – Most Reach (registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction chemicals) registration dossiers do not follow official guidelines, and some lack ‘very basic information’, according to research conducted by a group at the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (Europe) at the University of Konstanz, Germany. The group looked at 400 randomly selected records and found insufficient information about reproductive and developmental toxicity in many. The researchers estimate that, based on proposals in the studied dossiers, 1.6 million animals will be needed for the 4600 substances Reach registered so far. They add that in vitro tests, which would not require animal testing, are ‘completely absent’ from the proposals and should be promoted more strongly.

Andrew Turley

                  

Source:
http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/?feed=rss2