Slimming down competition over weight-loss drugs
Legal battle between Novo Nordisk and US compounding pharmacy Hims & Hers has fizzled after regulator intervention
AlphaGenome & the RNA world hypothesis
In this episode, we discuss Google DeepMind’s latest deep learning model AlphaGenome, dissect the origins of life from chemicals to complex lifeforms, and hear the latest headlines.
Controversial weedkiller dicamba reapproved in the US
Regulator says new label restrictions will prevent damage of nearby crops
Dow to cut 4500 jobs in productivity drive
Firm claims AI and automation will help revive growth during sustained industrial downturn
Probing PFAS policies in the UK and EU
India–EU trade deal will cut tariffs and enable economic migration
World first for clinical trial of skin patch to monitor therapeutic drugs in real time
Rethinking hydrogen peroxide production
Congress rescues industry watchdog earmarked for closure by Trump administration
Is it cold in here?
Highlights
In 2023, the UK was the first country to approve a Crispr therapy. How’s it doing?
Disconnect exists between the media hype around gene-editing treatment and the reality for patients
Plastic recycling is contracting when it needs to grow
High costs, oversupply of virgin polymers and complex political environment are challenging industry
Pharmaceuticals roundup 2025
Policy swings have made it a slippery year for pharma
Chemicals industry roundup 2025
Europe hit hard by China’s independence push, but India is growing
Choosing the perfect path to an industrial R&D career
Options abound whether or not you have a PhD
Slimming down competition over weight-loss drugs
Legal battle between Novo Nordisk and US compounding pharmacy Hims & Hers has fizzled after regulator intervention
World first for clinical trial of skin patch to monitor therapeutic drugs in real time
Sensor could soon help doctors to prevent overdoses of drugs
Is it cold in here?
Labs in Delhi, Aberdeen and Arizona will have different ideas of ‘room temperature’
In 2023, the UK was the first country to approve a Crispr therapy. How’s it doing?
Disconnect exists between the media hype around gene-editing treatment and the reality for patients
Slimming down competition over weight-loss drugs
Legal battle between Novo Nordisk and US compounding pharmacy Hims & Hers has fizzled after regulator intervention
Controversial weedkiller dicamba reapproved in the US
Regulator says new label restrictions will prevent damage of nearby crops
Probing PFAS policies in the UK and EU
The UK has set out its approach to regulating fluorochemicals, and the EU has projected the savings from a proposed ban
UK government sets out plan to tackle PFAS threat
Report accepts that regulation is needed, but warns transition away from PFAS will take time
Congress rescues industry watchdog earmarked for closure by Trump administration
Agency has received level funding of $14 million to continue to investigate and report back on US chemical accidents
Carbon border taxes may do more harm than good
Industry argues UK proposals are flawed and will not promote decarbonisation
World first for clinical trial of skin patch to monitor therapeutic drugs in real time
Sensor could soon help doctors to prevent overdoses of drugs
Global analysis identifies trends in platform chemical research
Ammonia and methanol lead shift towards greener technologies
Suppressing side reactions brings efficiency boosts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis
Two new strategies tackle Fischer–Tropsch’s problematic side reactions
This fragment-based drug discovery library is designed to be sociable
Study targets a key bottleneck in hit to lead optimisation by designing fragments that are both structurally diverse and easy to elaborate
All stirred up: chemical engineers refute claims that ‘stirring doesn’t matter’
Failing to mix reactions in heterogeneous or industrial systems could cause numerous issues and might even be dangerous, preprint claims
Unrecovered byproducts from US mines could meet the country’s demand for dozens of critical materials
Huge quantities of metals and other elements are discarded each year in mining waste
Ten years on, pharma industry still testing for implausible alkyl sulfonate ester contaminants
Risk assessment for potential mutagenic side-products is still required by regulatory bodies, despite lack of evidence they form during drug production
Polymer membrane separates hydrocarbons, offering alternative to distillation
Microporous membrane enables energy efficient chemical separations
Controversial weedkiller dicamba reapproved in the US
Regulator says new label restrictions will prevent damage of nearby crops
Dow to cut 4500 jobs in productivity drive
Firm claims AI and automation will help revive growth during sustained industrial downturn
Carbon border taxes may do more harm than good
Industry argues UK proposals are flawed and will not promote decarbonisation
Sabic offloads petrochemicals and plastics plants in Europe and Americas
German private equity firms Aequita and Mutares aim to return struggling plants to profitability
Dow to cut 4500 jobs in productivity drive
Firm claims AI and automation will help revive growth during sustained industrial downturn
Probing PFAS policies in the UK and EU
The UK has set out its approach to regulating fluorochemicals, and the EU has projected the savings from a proposed ban
Rethinking hydrogen peroxide production
Hydro-Oxy and Addible both aim to transform how industry produces and uses a ubiquitous oxidant.
Bench-stable butyllithium & secrets of Pompeii’s limescale
In this episode, we discuss the latest formulations designed to make a set of fiery reagents safer, explore what limescale can tell us about ancient civilizations and hear the latest headlines.
Carbon border taxes may do more harm than good
Industry argues UK proposals are flawed and will not promote decarbonisation
Sabic offloads petrochemicals and plastics plants in Europe and Americas
German private equity firms Aequita and Mutares aim to return struggling plants to profitability
Sabic offloads petrochemicals and plastics plants in Europe and Americas
German private equity firms Aequita and Mutares aim to return struggling plants to profitability
Pharmaceuticals roundup 2025
Policy swings have made it a slippery year for pharma
Chemicals industry roundup 2025
Europe hit hard by China’s independence push, but India is growing
AkzoNobel-Axalta merger gives coatings firm extra layers
Pursuit of scale drives continued consolidation across coatings sector
Pfizer wins bidding war for Metsera and its weight-loss drugs
Pfizer and Novo Nordisk’s battle over Metsera
Novartis spends on deals to offset patent losses
BASF sells coatings business to Carlyle in €7.7 billion deal
Sanofi to buy Blueprint Medicines for over $9 billion
Merck KGaA to buy cancer specialist SpringWorks
Optimise cross-coupling with ligand-free NHC–Pd precatalysts
Discover how new NHC–Pd precatalysts deliver superior performance without stabilising ligands
AdQPhos: Exceptional performance in α‑arylation reactions
Download now to discover a more efficient and greener palladium cross-coupling catalyst
Optimise drug discovery: predicting transporter-mediated drug interactions
Learn how in vitro models, biomarkers and modelling can improve prediction of drug interactions and toxicity – reducing false positives and unnecessary clinical studies
