Ventures Slate Peptide Output

Ventures slate peptide output

U.S.-based Nobex and India's Biocon have reached an agreement for codevelopment of an oral version of Scios' Natrecor, a peptide for the treatment of heart disease. The pact combines Nobex's oral peptide delivery technology with Biocon's peptide production capability. Separately, Unigene Laboratories has completed the transfer of its recombinant manufacturing process for the peptide drug calcitonin to Novartis' Sandoz generic drug unit in Europe. Sandoz will supply Unigene, which launched a nasal calcitonin product earlier this month.

Ranbaxy opens major drug lab

Indian pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy has inaugurated a drug discovery lab providing work space for up to 700 people at Gurgaon, a city near New Delhi in India's Haryana state. This is the third lab Ranbaxy has set up at Gurgaon since 1994, when the company decided to compete internationally. The lab will enhance the firm's capabilities in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, molecular technologies, infectious diseases, metabolism, and pharmacokinetics.

LG venture boosts methyl methacrylate

LG MMA has started building a 76,000-metric-ton-per-year methyl methacrylate plant in Yeosu, South Korea. When the facility goes onstream in April 2008, LG MMA's capacity for MMA will reach 176,000 metric tons. Demand for the material is brisk in South Korea, where it is used in making light guides for liquid-crystal displays. To supply this application, LG MMA also operates a polymerization facility making use of Sumitomo Chemical technology. LG MMA is owned 50% by LG Corp., 25% by Sumitomo Chemical, and 25% by Nippon Shokubai.

Chemical output slips in July

U.S. chemical production declined in July from the previous month, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Federal Reserve Board. The numbers show that the production index for all chemicals fell 0.1% from June to 113.4 (1997 = 100). This index was up 3.3% from July of last year. Output of basic chemicals fell 0.8% from June to an index of 90.8, marking the ninth straight month-to-month decline for this important industry sector. The July index for this sector was down 4.5% from the comparable month in 2004.