Phillip Broadwith
Business editor, Chemistry World
As Business editor, my aim is to highlight to readers the exciting and innovative chemistry going on in the commercial sector, as well as keeping you abreast of trends and developments in the world of chemistry businesses.
From the point I left school, my aim was to join the pharmaceutical industry. A gap year and summer placements in company labs, and a PhD in organic synthesis followed.
But halfway through my PhD I entered a writing competition run by the Daily Telegraph. I managed to win – somewhat to my own surprise. That changed my perspective and made me think that I should consider writing more seriously as a career. I joined the Royal Society of Chemistry just before submitting my thesis, and luckily a position with Chemistry World came up a few months later. I sometimes miss the thrills (less so the spills) of lab work, but interacting with world-leading scientists and industrialists, as well as learning new things on a daily basis more than makes up for it.
BusinessTwo workers killed in fire at fertiliser plant in Gujarat, India
A second fire the same day in Gujarat was tackled without casualties
OpinionUK biofuels burning out
With UK plants facing closure, what are the options and issues around different renewable fuels?
OpinionDeadly fentanyl contamination exposes drug safety challenges
Bacterial contamination in medical fentanyl has killed at least 51 people in Argentina, highlighting pressures on generic drugmakers
BusinessWill oral weight loss drugs challenge injectables?
Pills may offer convenience for manufacturers, but it’s not clear they will overtake existing drugs
OpinionCheap virgin plastic limits recycling potential
Global plastic treaty negotiations risk being derailed by minority opposed to production caps
BusinessMerck & Co to cut 6000 jobs, Moderna to cut around 500
Both firms aiming to make significant reductions in annual costs by reorganising
OpinionIntergovernmental panel on chemicals, waste and pollution needs diverse input
Balancing industrial expertise against unwanted commercial influence is not easy but shouldn’t be discounted
OpinionLosing sleep over pesticide exposure
Managing exposure risks poses questions about the extent of producers’ and regulators’ responsibilities for safety
OpinionChina’s drug development charge
Reforms and state support have fuelled domestic and foreign investment in pharmaceutical
BusinessWill HIV prevention get where it’s needed?
Gilead and its partners’ efforts to distribute generic lenacapavir could be derailed by cuts in international aid budgets
Business11 executives jailed over Italian PFAS pollution
Convictions relate to groundwater contamination around Miteni fluorochemicals plant
OpinionCritical metals supply strained
Conflict - both military and political - is having profound effects on supplies of a wide range of materials
OpinionThe future of oil refining in the UK
Can plants adapt to be compatible with a lower-carbon environment?
BusinessSanofi to buy Blueprint Medicines for over $9 billion
Blueprint has one approved drug and enhances Sanofi’s immunology portfolio
OpinionSafety is everyone’s responsibility
Maintaining culture and investment is key, especially in the absence of incidents
BusinessExplosion and fire at Chinese chemical plant kills five
Six others missing and 19 injured at Shandong Youdao Chemical
OpinionIgnoring women’s health shouldn’t be an option
Developing therapies for conditions that predominantly affect women is a neglected, but enormous, opportunity
OpinionRebuilding pharma supply chains
Multinationals are promising huge US investments, but it’s not all because of Trump’s policies
OpinionIran port explosion highlights issues of shipping hazardous chemicals
Intersecting regulations and jurisdictions mean rules can be accidentally or deliberately overlooked