Merck KGaA has announced a plan to close some EU production sites and invest in others, citing the centralization strategy employed by Sigma-Aldrich as inspiration.
German Merck and Sigma-Aldrich broke EU merger procedures and could face a fine equivalent to 1% of the combined firm's annual revenue according to the European Commission
MilliporeSigma has opened a facility in Spain dedicated to the manufacture of the solubility-enhancing excipient meglumine.
Honeywell recently announced the launch of a new business, Honeywell Research Chemicals, that will now include several brands and solvent and inorganic chemical products that were acquired from Sigma-Aldrich in December 2015. Honeywell Research Chemicals combines more than 200 years of industry expertise and experience with a level of customization that meets the fast-changing needs of advanced researchers, who require a reliable supply of critical reagents and solvents in the analytical testing, drug discovery, and applied materials sectors.
Throughout 2016 Merck's Gonal-f fertility drug has benefited from reduced competition from Ferring's Bravelle range, which was pulled from the US market last year because of quality issues. In the third quarter Gonal-f grew 10% to €182m, a lower rate than in the prior two quarters.
Two weeks ago, Germany’s Merck KGaA suffered a blow in the U.K., when the country’s cost-effectiveness watchdog NICE ruled that the benefits of its drug Erbitux in head and neck cancer do not justify its price. Now the company is acknowledging that pricing pressure is weighing down the blockbuster product, which saw its sales fall in the third quarter, from €223 million ($240 million) in the same quarter last year to €219 million ($236 million).
Merck KGaA’s got a big birthday coming up--and in honor of the milestone, it’s rolling out some big plans.nThe German drugmaker expects to generate sales of €4 billion with new products by 2022, it said Thursday--and it intends to do that by riding both its currently approved and up-and-coming products between 2019--the year after its 350th anniversary--and 2022.
Germany’s Merck expects to achieve cost synergies of €90m ($98m) in 2016 from the integration of Sigma-Aldrich which the firm acquired in November.
Johnson Matthey has expanded its UK biocatalysis R&D operations in response to growing drug industry demand.