THE FINE AND CUSTOM chemicals industry arrived at the annual Informex trade show in San Francisco late last month undaunted by the worldwide economic crisis. In a week when the world’s largest drug company, Pfizer, announced a $68 billion bid to buy Wyeth (see page 7), many of the suppliers to the pharmaceutical industry indicated they, too, were ready to proceed with investments in capacity and, in at least one case, an acquisition. Several exhibitors are moving forward with investments on new biologics ventures, including SAFC, which will spend $12 million on an expansion at its recently opened Carlsbad, Calif., biologics facility. The firm is currently investing $50 million on expanding operations, according to Gilles Cottier, president of SAFC, which is the fine chemicals division of Sigma Aldrich. Novasep has invested $55 million over the past year in new highly potent active ingredients production at its plant in Le Mans, France, and at a new ...