also includes a nearby ore-processing mill. Both properties were owned by Porter Brothers Corp. of Boise. The deposit yields euxenite rare-earth ore. This is rich in yttrium and the highermolecular-weight rare earths—the socalled "heavies." The mine also yields commercial quantities of niobium, tantalum, and uranium. The Porter property has not been worked since 1960. But it could be brought back into production within months. However, plans for reactivating the operation are not complete, according to Dr. Schultze. For the next three years, Michigan Chemical's yttrium concentrate needs will be largely met by new contracts just signed with Denison Mines, Ltd., and Stanrock Uranium Mines, Ltd. Both companies produce uranium in the Elliot Lake area of Ontario. The yttrium concentrate is a by-product. Dr. Schultze predicts that, by 1970, yttrium oxide will be used in the U.S. at a rate of about 400,000 pounds per year, almost all of it still in television phosphors. This will be about a 170% increase over the 1966 rate. By 1975, a growing color television market in Europe could add another 200,000 pounds, he says. To help meet this growth, Michigan Chemical will boost its yttrium oxide capacity from 70,000 to 140,000 pounds per year within the next six months. This expansion, together with the new Yttrium Corp. of America plant at Louviers, Colo., and enlarged American Potash and Chemical Corp. facilities at West Chicago, 111., will bring U.S. capacity to some 400,000 pounds per year by midyear.
Only 11 new drugs in 1966 Fewer new prescription drugs reached the U.S. market in 1966 than in any previous year on record, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association noted last week in its year-end statement on drug industry progress. This slowdown in the flow of new products occurred despite a new all-time high in research and development spending by the drug industry of some $400 million for the year. Only 11 basically new prescription drugs were put on the market in 1966—down from 23 introduced the year before. And except for 1965, the number of new drugs reaching the market place has declined steadily each year since 1959, when a record 41 new products were introduced. PMA president C. Joseph Stetler attributes last year's decline to a number of factors, not the least of which are federal drug regulations. The 1962 Kefauver-Harris Amendments to the federal drug law have "necessitated
increasingly lengthy, costly periods for manufacturers to develop technical information required by the Government," he explains. Also, the Food and Drug Administration is taking longer to process new drug applications, he says, thus "adding to the delay and increasing the manufacturers' overall premarketing expenditures." The 11 new single chemical entities which were marketed last year are Vercyte (Abbott Laboratories), a tumor growth inhibitor; Zyloprim (Burroughs Wellcome), an antiarthritic; Citanest (Astra Pharmaceutical Products), a local anesthetic; Thioguanine (Burroughs Wellcome), an antileukemic; Ethynodiol diacetate (G. D. Searle), an oral contraceptive; Garamycin (Schering), a topical antibiotic; Tolinase (Upjohn), an oral agent for treating diabetes; Lasix (Hoechst Pharmaceuticals), a diuretic; Rondomycin (Pfizer), an antibiotic; Sere (Unimed), a cardiovascular agent; and Levoprome (Lederle Laboratories), a nonaddicting analgesic and sedative for use in nonambulatory patients. A twelfth new drug, Du Pont's antiviral, Symmetrel, was approved by FDA for marketing in 1966, but will not be introduced until probably sometime this month.
Japan still solid market Japan will continue to present a number of chemical marketing opportunities for U.S. companies, according to a study made for the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. The analysis cites 10 product areas in which imports have increased in the past few years or which look promising for the next few years: synthetic rubber, chemical fertilizers, agricultural chemicals, synthetic dyes, synthetic perfumes, certain petrochemical products, surface-active agents, various plastics, pharmaceuticals, and radioisotopes. The study was made in connection with the embassy's regular program of market research for the U.S. Trade Center in Tokyo. One likely result will be a chemical show sponsored by the U.S. Trade Center in Tokyo in the fiscal year starting in July. The share of imports of synthetic rubber in Japan's net supply has been dropping steadily since 1962, corresponding to rapidly rising local capacity. But imports still accounted for 28% of the net supply in 1965, according to the study. Domestic styrene-butadiene rubber, polychloroprene, and nitrile rubber are steadily displacing Japanese imports of these chemicals. But new or special rubbers like butyl, polyisoprene, and ethylenepropylene terpolymer, none of them made yet in Japan, should continue to
find Japanese buyers for some time to come. Japan imported only 9% of her net supply of chemical fertilizers in 1965. Still, that comes to $46 million. Most of it comes from sales of potassium chloride and phosphate ore, neither of which is available locally. Japan offers a market for agricultural chemicals, too, the study indicates. About 10% of the value of Japan's net supply, or $14.4 million, was imported in 1964. Japan also continues to look abroad for certain types of dyes, in spite of her own growing production. In 1965 she imported about $20 million worth (11% of net supply), in spite of a 25% duty. Japanese synthetic perfume makers have been rapidly strengthening their position, yet continue to rely heavily on imports of certain costly or hard-tomake compounds. Imports in 1965 accounted for 15% of the net supply (volume). Even petrochemicals still hold some opportunities, though Japanese producers have cornered most of the home market. Aromatics like benzene, toluene, and especially xylenes, as well as other chemicals such as cyclohexane still figure prominently on import lists. Nor have Japanese producers been completely able to stem the flow of foreign-made surface-active agents. This is particularly true of high-quality raw materials, the study shows. Imports totaled $3.6 million in 1965. Plastics, too, offer some, if limited, possibilities—mainly in specialty products. Imports of synthetic resins in 1965 totaled $27 million, or 5% of net supply, but the long-term outlook is for the relative share to drop. Silicone resins should continue to be imported for some time, though with new and expanded capacity coming into play (C&EN, Dec. 26, 1966, page 10), the long-term outlook is decline. Ion exchange resins, certain fluoroplastic resins, and polyurethane fiber also may continue to find a market in Japan for several years. Foreign producers will continue to share significantly in Japan's billiondollar-plus pharmaceutical market, too, according to the study. Imports totaled $60 million in 1965, of which $16.8 million came from the U.S. Some may disagree with some of the study's conclusions, at least in detail. And indeed, the study is still preliminary, being subject to further review by various government agencies. Still, there is no doubt that Japan represents a key chemical market. Chemical imports in 1965 totaled $408 million (down 10% from 1964). These imports accounted for 5% of Japan's total offshore purchases in 1965. JAN.
2, 1967 C&EN
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