Page 169 - CW E-Magazine (12-11-2024)

News from Abroad

dent, Head of Bioconjugates, Lonza, dality poised for substantial growth cancer cells while limiting toxicity to
commented, “The relationship with our in the coming years driven by market healthy tissues, they are fulfilling their
valued partner has evolved over the demand, increased therapeutic efficacy, therapeutic and commercial potential
years to incorporate all stages of bio- and access to novel disease targets. by transforming treatment options and
conjugate manufacturing and commer- Our expanded relationship highlights bringing hope to cancer patients. Lonza
cialisation. Offering end-to-end ADC the value of our services and our lead- has unique experience in supporting
manufacturing services eliminates supply ing role in the global bioconjugates ADC manufacturing, from early deve-
chain complexities and streamlines and ADC markets.” lopment stages to commercial launch,
product delivery at scale.” including drug substance manufacturing
ADCs are bioconjugates that usu- and drug product filling. As a leading
Mr. Jean-Christophe Hyvert, Presi- ally combine a targeting antibody with CDMO for bioconjugates, Lonza has
dent, Biologics, Lonza, added, “Bio- a highly-potent payload using a linker produced more than 1,000 cGMP batches
conjugates represent an exciting mo- molecule. By using targeted delivery to for more than 70 programs since 2006.

TYRE RAW MATERIAL
Bridgestone gets US govt. grant to pilot ethanol-to-

butadiene conversion

Bridgestone Americas, the US-
based subsidiary of Bridgestone Cor-
poration, a global leader in tyres and
rubber, said it has received a grant from
the US Department of Energy (DoE)
Industrial Efficiency and Decarboniza-
tion Office.

Bridgestone will design, build and
operate a pilot plant that will advance
an innovative, potentially more sus-
tainable and cost-effective approach to
obtaining butadiene from ethanol. The
project will evaluate the economic and
commercial viability, as well as the Dr. Mark Smale, Bridgestone Executive commercially viable new way of thermo-
carbon footprint, of converting ethanol Director of Core Polymer Science. chemically converting ethanol to buta-
to butadiene. diene.
The DOE grant was awarded due
The company plans to utilise the to the project’s aim of reducing green- Butadiene is a key ingredient in
butadiene produced to further study and house gas emissions and moving the tyres today and typically represents
confirm the potential use as a feedstock nation closer to a net-zero economy. the No. 1 ingredient (by volume) in
for raw materials in its tyres. The pilot synthetic rubber that is derived from
plant is expected to be operational in Bridgestone has partnered with fossil fuels. The goal of this project is
three years. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to assess, and hopefully prove, the eco-
or PNNL, for this project. The process nomic viability of deriving butadiene
“Projects like this will help advance will utilise and scale a proprie- from ethanol conversion versus fossil
the science and technologies necessary tary catalyst system originally deve- fuel conversion. If the economics prove
to make the industry more sustainable, loped by PNNL and further co-deve- viable, then low carbon intensity etha-
placing our engineers and scientists at loped through research activities with nol (or ethanol derived from bio-based
the forefront of potentially revolution- Bridgestone. It is this catalyst combined or recycled materials) could replace
ising how tyre makers obtain butadiene with Bridgestone’s process engineering the use of fossil fuels in the process to
in a more nature-positive way,” said that holds the promise of establishing a obtain butadiene.

Chemical Weekly November 5, 2024 169

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