Clariant expansion project at Tonneins plant completed
Clariant has completed a Euro 2.0m (US$1.9m) expansion project at its Tonneins facility in France to increase by 25% the production of 2-chloronicotinic acid (2CNA). The compound is finding increasing applications as a building block in pharmaceutical synthesis. To date, 2CNA has seen use as a key intermediate for the manufacture of growth regulators and pharmaceutical APIs.
According to Daniel Mercadier, senior sales manager, this expansion will ensure sustainable growth for Clariant with this chemistry in the foreseeable future. The company is the world's largest producer of 2CNA. 'Our industry leadership stems both from our technology position - based on a catalysis process that has been continuously improved over the last 20 years - but also on our continuing r&d work with this molecule to understand and develop new routes from which it can offer value in new synthesis projects,' he said.
Clariant is also due to complete an Euro 3.5m ($3.4m) expansion of its sterile manufacturing capability at Tonneins to meet increased demand for sterile APIs featuring more complex chemistries. The new facility, which is due to be completed in October and will come on stream in November, features large volume sterile manufacturing capability, a sterile pilot plant and a Class A cleanroom manufacturing and handling capability. This expansion was necessary to accommodate the production of a new API to be launched in 2003.
According to Mercadier, sterile production is becoming an increasingly important part of making parenteral pharmaceutical preparations. At the same time, however, the molecules making up today's more sophisticated drugs are increasingly reactive and complex. Traditional approaches to sterilisation pose problems because they can cause decomposition or contamination of chemically complex APIs.
The Tonneins facility has adopted a new, more 'gentle' approach to sterilisation, featuring advances in microfiltration and specially developed aseptic handling techniques and equipment to deliver sterile APIs. The process involves dissolving APIs in a specially selected solvent and then passing the mixture through a specialised membrane, which effectively removes biological contaminants from the dissolved product. Once sterilised, the product is recrystallised.
Handling after sterilisation is critical to maintaining the integrity of the product, and part of the expansion is a Class A handling room featuring glove boxes and advanced air handling systems. This handling room is complete and on-line.
Clariant's Life Science and Electronic Chemicals division made a significant contribution to a positive result for Clariant in the first six months of 2002, with sales up by 4.2% in local currency terms.
The pharma sector has begun to shift the focus of its activities to late stage intermediates, while the far-reaching restructuring of the division is proceeding according to plan, the company says. Evaluation of the product portfolio and of several of the division's plants will be completed by the end of the year. One site has already been sold, and negotiations are under way for four others.