Chemical Companies and Biotechnology

The publication record is an appropriate measure of the overall impact of software in both business and nonbusiness environments. Pharmaceutical, chemical, agrochemical, and biotechnology companies have been among the prime purchasers of commercial software. Academicians use these same software packages, which they usually can acquire relatively inexpensively. Although scientists in industry do not experience the same pressure to publish as academicians and therefore tend not to publish the same quantity of papers, many of the leading computational chemists in industry do publish as extensively as their academic counterparts. Thus the scientific literature gives a reasonable measure of the frequency with which software played a role in publications. Comparisons can be made based trends in those frequencies. 

He always maintained close contacts with industry, and actively promoted collaboration between universities and both industrial companies and government institutions. Consultancies with many companies were undertaken in connection with research grants to his department. These contacts formed an important part of his life, and he claimed they were a great stimulation to him. He was a protagonist of the utilization of carbohydrates as chemical raw materials, although at the time they did not find many industrial outlets because of the development of the petrochemical industiy. Now, however, many of his concepts have re-emerged under the fashionable umbrella of biotechnology. 

Ribbons DW, SJC Taylor, CT Evans, SD Thomas, JT Rossiter, DA Widdowson, DJ Williams (1989) Biodegradations yield novel intermediates for chemical synthesis. In Biotechnology and Biodegradation (Eds D Kamely, A Chakrabarty, GS Omenn), pp. 213-245. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. 

Shell" and Biotechnology. Xanthan is manufactured by fermentation, a biotechnological process. How could "Shell", an oil company, be interested in such processes The Royal Dutch/Shell Group is, however, no newcomer to biotechnology. The Milstead Laboratory of Chemical Enzymology was set up in 1962 and was headed by Professor John Cornforth, who went on to win the 1975 Nobel prize for Chemistry shortly after he retired. In 1970 a fermentation laboratory was built on the same site. 

Although, MediChem is a biosecurity products manufacturer, its biotechnology-based R D capabilities are worth mentioning here. The attended markets include Medical, Laboratory, Veterinary, and Environmental sectors. Medicinal chemistry services and drug discovery form the basis of the company, though their capabilities might be applied in a broader range of sectors. These capabilities comprise the areas of Proteomics, Combinatorial and Computational Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Enzymes, Process Development, Analytical and Separations Chemistry, Chemical Synthesis and Scale Up. 

Nanotechnology is an evolving research area especially in materials and biotechnological sciences. First studies have shown that the special properties of nanoparticles can give rise to highly active and selective catalysts to enable chemists to perform entirely novel transformations. Discussion and evaluation of the potential of nanoparticles for chemical research in a pharmaceutical company with experts in the field was needed. Other areas in catalysis like biotransformations and metal catalyst screening and development continue to expand the possibilities for the manufacturing of test compounds and development candidates. 

Rolf Bachmann is a principal in McKinsey s Zurich office, having joined the firm in 1992. He has served various companies in specialty chemicals, pharma and life sciences, and the basic and advanced materials industries, and has been involved in several industrial biotechnology projects. He is a leading member of McKinsey s chemicals practice and leads the practice s industrial biotech initiative. Rolf has an MBA and a PhD in economics from the University of Zurich. 

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