HIGH-TECH PUSH FOR CUSTOM FIRMS

AT THE INFORMEX CUSTOM chemical exhibition in Orlando, Fla., last week, several announcements confirmed the industry's push into biotechnology and other specialized areas that are high-tech, fast growing, and—Western companies hope—insulated from emerging Asian competitors. Much of the news was in biocatalysis. DSM Pharma Chemicals said it has joined with the German biocatalysis technology firm IEP to discover and develop biocatarytic replacements for traditional chemical syntheses. IEP will screen biocatalysts to achieve the targeted result, after which DSM will scale up the processes to make active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates. PCAS, a French fine chemicals supplier, and the biotech company Proteus have formed PCAS Biosolution. The venture will combine the partners' intellectual property and capabilities for synthesizing APIs, intermediates, and building blocks using chemo-biocatalytic routes. "Customers will benefit from all the value drivers of integrating biocatalysis into chem...