March 24 Business Watch: Helium capacity taken out in Qatar; Novartis to pay $2 billion for oncology small molecule

It’s DCAT Week in New York City. The annual pharmaceutical services meeting, sponsored by the Drug, Chemical, and Associated Technologies Association, kicked off on Monday under gray skies.At a company announcement forum attended by C&EN reporter Aayushi Pratap, drug services companies showcased recent investments in manufacturing. Talking about Cambrex’s previously announced $130 million active pharmaceutical ingredient investment in Charles City, Iowa, chief operating officer Claudio Russolo said the project will add about 140,000 L of capacity. Other companies presented plans to ramp up capabilities for making antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), a relatively new kind of therapeutic in which an antibody guides a cancer-killing molecule to its intended target. Anna Maria Barca of Italy’s BSP Pharmaceuticals, for instance, outlined plans for a nearly $800 million investment, including an initial $230 million to ramp up the conjugation capabilities needed to combine the two parts of an ADC.For the second year in a row, C&EN is hosting a networking event on Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., for DCAT Week attendees and other friends of C&EN. Registration has officially closed, but if you would like to attend, email me, Michael McCoy, C&EN’s business editor, at m_mccoy@acs.org. I’ll take story ideas and other feedback as well.Top stories from C&ENFertilizer and specialty chemical makers in India are struggling with a shortage of ammonia.The war in Iran hasn’t directly hit European chemical makers, but they are bracing for the impact of higher raw material costs.