The UK government plans to nationalise British Steel after siezing control from its' Chinese owners. Steel's struggles with high energy and operating costs, and competition from cheap imports, mirror those of many of the UK's basic chemical plants. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/brit...

Shortages of road-building bitumen are disrupting major infrastructure projects; cylinder cooking gas scarcity is pushing households and hospitality to dirtier alternative fuels, and a looming crisis in jet fuel means hundreds of cancelled flights. www.chemistryworld.com/news/iran-wa...

A US court sentenced Purdue Pharma to pay criminal penalties for mismarketing of OxyContin (oxycodone). The ruling is the last step before Purdue can enter bankruptcy, settling lawsuits with state, local and tribal governments & thousands of individuals. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/purd...

The infrastructure, momentum and mindset around animal testing means that even demonstrably superior technology struggles to displace it. If regulators in eg the EU accept non-animal tests, but US doesn't, then companies will still do the animal tests. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/majo...

The fragile US-Iran ceasefire is welcome. But the war's impact on chemicals supply chains will continue. The trickle of ships from the Gulf will take weeks to reach their destinations. And damage to Gulf infrastructure will take months to years to repair. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/iran...

Indian patents protecting Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) expired on 20 March. India's patent laws, expertise in generic manufacturing, and growing demand for diabetes and weight-loss medication provide huge opportunity for generic drugmakers www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/indi...

The US–Israeli conflict with Iran has created a crisis in fossil polymer feedstocks. So recent expansions in oils from chemically recycled waste plastic are welcome news. While still in its infancy, regulation around tracking recycled content is taking shape. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/chem...

As the US–Israeli offensive on Iran continues, its impact on chemicals trade has also intensified. The most obvious effect is on petrochemicals, but around 1/3 of the world’s helium supply and 44% of global elemental sulfur production is also cut off. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/wide...

Huge numbers of low-carbon hydrogen production projects get announced, only to quietly disappear. Are cancellations correcting over-optimism? Or were some merely commitments of convenience – buying time on reducing emissions on the promise of hydrogen gains? www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/hydr...

Food colourings quite neatly encapsulate many cultural clashes over the nature and safety of substances. Is a ‘natural’ colour safer or better than a synthetic one? Do high-dose hazards translate to real risks of harm? Where should regulators draw the line? www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/are-...

On 10 February, the US FDA told Moderna that it would not accept the company’s application for a new influenza vaccine – with senior leaders reportedly overruling FDA staff. A week later, the FDA has reversed its decision and is accepting the drug for review. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/mode...

US compounder Hims&Hers attempted to undercut Novo Nordisk's recently approved Wegovy (semaglutide) weight-loss tablets. Novo threatened a lawsuit & the FDA launched a crackdown on compounded weight-loss drugs, leading Hims to withdraw its tablets from sale. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/slim...

The UK now has a plan for regulating PFAS fluorochemicals, and the EU has projected savings from its proposed ban. The UK will increase monitoring and work with industry to restrict non-essential applications. But campaigners say the UK isn't going far enough. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/prob...

The UK’s steel, cement and chemicals industries have warned that – in its current form – the carbon border tax due to be introduced in 2027 will accelerate the decline of domestic industry. Flaws in the plans mean it may not have the desired effects. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/carb...

Donald Trump’s US government has spent the last year dismantling the country’s scientific research and regulatory functions. Academic and industry scientists alike are concerned about what this means for the future of US innovation. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/trum...

Plastic recycling in Europe should be ramping up to meet the demands of impending regulations. Instead, plants are closing. Cheap virgin polymers, high energy prices and patchy policy make it cost-effective to just use virgin polymer and pay the penalties. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/plas...

The UK government has agreed £150 million in support for the Grangemouth industrial complex, home of the UK’s last ethylene production plant. But with little prospect of near-term ethylene market improvement, is this enough to save a strategic UK industry? www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/repr...

The African Medicines Agency is enormously important. Harmonising regulatory pathways and building development and testing capability could mean more medicines reach African populations, and fewer counterfeits and substandard drugs make it through the net. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/a-un...

‘The US is no longer playing by the rules [and] China has not been playing by the rules for some time.’ If large chunks of the global chemicals market start playing by different rules, European governments and industry need to respond quickly. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/chan...

I spent my gap year investigating valve designs for aerosol asthma inhalers. Hours of firing inhalers into bespoke lab apparatus gave an insight into how changes like swapping the propellant might require much more involved changes to the inhaler design. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/inha...

Drug discovery/development is a numbers game. We need to make and test lots of compounds, running lots of routine reactions. There's huge opportunity for automation, but building a robot capable of tasks a human chemist performs is still a huge challenge. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/a-ro...

Pfizer and Novo Nordisk are in a bidding war over Metsera – a US biotech developing new weight loss drugs. Both suitors have upped their offers to around $10 billion, but Metsera says Novo's 'superior' offer could allow it to break its agreement with Pfizer. www.chemistryworld.com/news/pfizer-...

While large companies and investors still have funds to commit to spin-outs, they tend to be looking for fewer, higher value deals. That means start-ups need to be more developed, so they need more consistent support - both financial and in building expertise www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/spin...

The future materials economy must be more circular, and we need people with the right skills to make that happen. There are skills gaps in key industries, which will take pro-active and collaborative action from industry, government and educators to address. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/goin...

The Nobel prize for metal-organic frameworks has been predicted for several years, even without much commercial presence. With several materials now at or close to commercial scale, perhaps the Nobel will provide the impetus for MOFs to have real-world impact. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/have...

BASF builds one of world’s largest industrial heat pumps. I told Chemistry World: “BASF is the largest chemical company in the world. Putting its weight behind heat pumps at this scale signals confidence in the technology in the chemicals sector and beyond.” www.chemistryworld.com/news/basf-be...

Trump is threatening punitive tariffs on patented and branded medicines, unless they build US manufacturing plants. That might look like an attempt to coerce multinationals to invest but that view belies the complexity of the industry and its supply chains. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/trum...

The global petrochemicals landscape is shifting. China's massive capacity expansion aimed at reducing imports has left producers elsewhere with oversupply, leading to low prices, squeezed margins, and closure of plants with higher costs - mainly in Europe. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/a-gl...

Pharma leaders have branded the UK 'uninvestable' as Merck & Co, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly have canceled or paused R&D investments. But they also recognise the UK's world-class research base, meaning it should be possible to tip the balance back again. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/is-u...

With UK plants facing closure, what are the options and issues around different renewable fuels? Dropping US tariffs means corn-derived ethanol imports are cheaper than domestic sugarbeet crops, while biodiesel and other options face similar issues www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/uk-b...

Argentina's medical fentanyl contamination tragedy has left over 50 people dead. Bacterial contamination of drugs is generally accidental, and normally intercepted, but the consequences of tradeoffs that make safeguards more likely to fail are devastating. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/dead...

Diabetes/weight loss peptide injectables - Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic/Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro/Zepbound - are incredibly successful, with potentially even more promising peptides in the pipeline. So why the rush to replace them with pills? www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/will...

If we are to reach a more circular plastic economy, there has to be economic supply and demand for recycled materials. That means virgin materials (currently cheap and abundant) must become more expensive – either by taxation, limiting production or both. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/chea...

The UN’s new panel on chemicals, waste and pollution faces a gargantuan and complex task. But there are still details to finalise. It's crucial that there are ways to feed independent and industrial science into committees, while managing inevitable biases. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/inte...

Farmers and researchers across the world are experiencing disturbed sleep patterns associated with exposure to a variety of chemical pesticides. And while putting the pesticides away would be a simple solution, it's impractical - they are too useful. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/losi...

In 2015, the Chinese government introduced reforms aimed at supercharging pharmaceutical innovation. Those reforms are bearing fruit, with an investment boom and both domestic and international approvals of China-developed drugs increasing markedly. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/chin...

2 more European crackers are closing, plus a handful of other basic chemicals plants. Chemicals are the foundation of huge swathes of manufacturing industry, and their closures will have significant long- and short-term impacts on regional production networks. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/crac...

US approval of Gilead’s 6-month HIV preventive injection is a huge advance. But will it get where it's needed? The highest risk of HIV infection is in lower income countries, and cuts to international aid budgets risk derailing generic supply agreements. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/will...

For such critical materials, a whole variety of metals have quite precarious supply chains. From Congolese cobalt to various metals with (perhaps unexpected) military applications, supplies of technologically important materials are under serious strain www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/crit...

What is the UK's oil refining future? EET’s Stanlow refinery has been refitted with a hydrogen-ready furnace, which it says will reduce the plant’s carbon footprint. But that assumes it captures emissions from H2 production www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/the-...

UK chemicals industry has learned some lessons from the past & now sees relatively few serious incidents. But when incidents are rare, investment in safety is an easy target for budget cuts, whose impact may not be seen for years, but could be catastrophic. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/safe...

Trump wants more medicines be manufactured in the US. And he’s brandishing both tariff stick and red-tape-cutting carrot. But it takes years to build new plants, so investment decisions are unlikely to have been significantly swayed by Trump's policies. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/rebu...

The deadly Iranian port explosion is a stark reminder of the inherent risks of transporting large quantities of hazardous chemicals around the world, and the challenges of tracking and regulating shipments effectively, while allowing trade to flow efficiently. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/iran...

There is a chronic shortage of labs for UK companies that are starting up and scaling up. It’s been holding back growth for years. Declining demand for shops and offices in cities provides an opportunity to develop new labs, but they need to be flexible www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/givi...

The UK government is looking for input from people/companies affected by US tariffs, or who might be affected if the UK imposes tariffs on US goods in response. If that's you, complete the government survey here before 1 May. www.gov.uk/government/p...

The US pharmaceutical and chemicals industries rely heavily on imports of products that aren't made in the US, and it would take years to build capacity. Whatever Trump's goal is with the tariffs, the industries are facing significant pains while it plays out. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/trum...

"I know you might think you’ve heard this before, but computational methods are now so powerful, they’re going to lead us directly to drugs!" @dereklowe.bsky.social and @philiprobinson.bsky.social give us a window into the latest MegaPharm project meeting... 💊 rsc.li/MegaPharmMee...

What happens in a bankruptcy when a company's main asset is its customers' personal genetic information? We're about to find out as 23andMe goes through a court-supervised sale process. Who will buy the firm's genetic databank, and what will they do with it? www.chemistryworld.com/decoding-23a...

Whose evidence do you favour when it comes to the risks posed by glyphosate herbicides? Do you lean towards an assessment based on intrinsic hazard, using only public data? Or do you include studies run by manufacturers, and account for real-world exposure? www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/gett...

Official US shortages of semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound) have now ended, but the first generics are gearing up for launch in 2026 in some markets. So companies are looking for the next generation of drugs. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/weig...