Iran war’s global impact keeps growing
Shortages of bitumen, cooking gas and jet fuel are pushing up prices and disrupting construction
Paint manufacturers still putting consumers at risk in Mexico with sale of toxic lead paints
Over half of paints sold in the country contain unsafe levels of lead pigments, with some reaching up to 29% lead
26 killed in fireworks factory explosion in China
Incident on 4 May injured over 60 others, with rescue work hampered by further fires and explosions
Purdue Pharma’s opioid prosecution enables bankruptcy settlement
$5 billion criminal sentence paves the way for resolution of civil liabilities through bankruptcy court
‘Basic research is needed more than anything else’
Stringent regulations on dichloromethane are forcing US labs to rethink use of common solvent
The evolving landscape of pain drug discovery
Major drug regulators advancing routes to reduce animal testing
Fatal incident at US catalyst refiner under investigation
China’s comprehensive new chemical safety law due to take effect
Highlights
The battery chemistry race shaping the future of electric vehicles
Science and global politics intertwine in the rivalry between lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides and lithium iron phosphate
Gulf chemicals supply disruption will continue for months to years
Impact on petrochemicals, fertilisers and various co-products like helium and sulfur will ripple throughout extensive supply chains
The curious case of disappearing polymorphs
From crystallographers’ beards to billion-dollar lawsuits, the phenomenon of disappearing polymorphs has puzzled chemists for decades. Now researchers are finally unravelling the science behind why stable crystal forms suddenly vanish – and discovering how to bring them back
‘The truth is supremely valuable and we cannot lie our way to it’
As a scientist with family in Iran, Derek Lowe finds his own government’s approach to truth alarming
Boron plays a key role in new sleeping sickness drug
Acoziborole is the first single-dose treatment for both early and late stage sleeping sickness
Iran war’s global impact keeps growing
Shortages of bitumen, cooking gas and jet fuel are pushing up prices and disrupting construction
Advantages of monodisperse PEG in drug development
Precision matters: why monodisperse PEG is transforming drug development.
Purdue Pharma’s opioid prosecution enables bankruptcy settlement
$5 billion criminal sentence paves the way for resolution of civil liabilities through bankruptcy court
‘Basic research is needed more than anything else’
Christian Hackenberger, co-founder of Tubulis, is excited that his team’s initial research is now creating clinical impact
Major drug regulators advancing routes to reduce animal testing
The curious case of disappearing polymorphs
India’s generic semaglutide surge
How to choose reactor materials and test for compatibility
‘The truth is supremely valuable and we cannot lie our way to it’
Boron plays a key role in new sleeping sickness drug
Paint manufacturers still putting consumers at risk in Mexico with sale of toxic lead paints
Over half of paints sold in the country contain unsafe levels of lead pigments, with some reaching up to 29% lead
26 killed in fireworks factory explosion in China
Incident on 4 May injured over 60 others, with rescue work hampered by further fires and explosions
Thousands of tonnes of hazardous chemicals entered environment due to EU delays
Report claims stalled roadmap has slowed phase-out of flame retardants, bisphenols and other chemicals
Purdue Pharma’s opioid prosecution enables bankruptcy settlement
$5 billion criminal sentence paves the way for resolution of civil liabilities through bankruptcy court
Major drug regulators advancing routes to reduce animal testing
US, UK and EU all have goals to eliminate animal testing
Fatal incident at US catalyst refiner under investigation
Two dead and 21 injured at silver reclamation facility after chemical mixture released hydrogen sulfide
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
Iran war’s global impact keeps growing
Shortages of bitumen, cooking gas and jet fuel are pushing up prices and disrupting construction
Gulf chemicals supply disruption will continue for months to years
Impact on petrochemicals, fertilisers and various co-products like helium and sulfur will ripple throughout extensive supply chains
Iran war’s global impact keeps growing
Shortages of bitumen, cooking gas and jet fuel are pushing up prices and disrupting construction
Gulf chemicals supply disruption will continue for months to years
Impact on petrochemicals, fertilisers and various co-products like helium and sulfur will ripple throughout extensive supply chains
Iran war’s global impact keeps growing
Shortages of bitumen, cooking gas and jet fuel are pushing up prices and disrupting construction
Paint manufacturers still putting consumers at risk in Mexico with sale of toxic lead paints
Over half of paints sold in the country contain unsafe levels of lead pigments, with some reaching up to 29% lead
26 killed in fireworks factory explosion in China
Incident on 4 May injured over 60 others, with rescue work hampered by further fires and explosions
Major drug regulators advancing routes to reduce animal testing
US, UK and EU all have goals to eliminate animal testing
Fatal incident at US catalyst refiner under investigation
Two dead and 21 injured at silver reclamation facility after chemical mixture released hydrogen sulfide
Bursting bubbles break down PFAS
Mantisonix is using ultrasound to destroy fluorochemical pollutants in water
‘Basic research is needed more than anything else’
Christian Hackenberger, co-founder of Tubulis, is excited that his team’s initial research is now creating clinical impact
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
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
Novel non-pyrophoric organolithiums for synthesis
New, improved formulations of frequently used organolithium reagents that improve on safety, prevent pyrophoric reactions and improve shelf life
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
