Press release
Health Care
June 20, 2011

Evonik expands glycine capacity

  • Evonik Industries has increased its production capacity for
    the pharmaceutical amino acid glycine by 50 percent
  • Evonik is currently investing in a new plant in Nanning,
    China, to expand its specialty chemicals portfolio

 

Essen, Germany-based Evonik Industries has increased its production capacity for the pharmaceutical amino acid glycine by 50 percent due to rising demand. This was achieved by efficiency gains in the production process. Evonik is a major provider of glycine and manufactures the amino acid at its Chinese Nanning site in accordance with the strict requirements of cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) and the European Pharmacopoeia (CEP; Certificate of Suitability of Monographs of  the European Pharmacopoeia). Evonik is investing in a new plant in Nanning to expand its portfolio of specialty chemical products by milling and sieving processes. The new qualities are expected to come on the market at the end of the year.

"We're currently experiencing strong demand for our glycine," reports Dr. Thomas Hermann, head of the Rexim Product Line. "By increasing our production capacities, we can keep up with this demand and further solidify our excellent market position."

By upgrading its technologies particularly in the purification process, Evonik has further improved product quality. "We're now able to provide glycine in all crystalline forms and particle size distributions requested by customers," notes Dr. Jean-Louis Philippe, the responsible marketing manager for the pharmaceutical amino acids.

Glycine is primarily used in the pharmaceutical and food industry, but also in pet food. It is a component of infusion solutions and specialty nutrition items and is also part of cell culture media. Accordingly, Evonik offers glycine in pharmaceutical and food-grade quality.

The wholly owned Evonik subsidiary Rexim is a significant producer of amino acids, peptides, and amino acid derivatives in pharmaceutical quality. The company acquired the glycine business of the Belgian Tessenderlo Group last year to further expand this business. The products are primarily used in the pharmaceutical industry, including in infusion solutions and to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients for anti-hypertensive and diabetes drugs, but also have many applications in the cosmetics and food industry. Evonik's strengths include its global distribution network and cGMP-compliant manufacturing across the entire supply chain, ranging all the way to cGMP-compliant amino acid purification.

About Evonik

Evonik is the creative industrial group from Germany. In our core business of specialty chemicals, we are a global leader. In addition, it has energy and residential real estate operations. Our performance is shaped by creativity, specialization, reliability and continuous self-renewal.

Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2010 more than 34,000 employees generated sales of around €13.3 billion and an operating profit (EBITDA) of about €2.4 billion.

Disclaimer

In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. Neither Evonik Industries AG nor its group companies assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release.