chemical · input

Ionizable Lipids for LNP Delivery (ALC-0315 / SM-102 type)

Synthetic cationic lipid components of mRNA lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery systems. ALC-0315 used in Pfizer/BioNTech; SM-102 in Moderna. Complex multi-step organic synthesis; only 2–3 companies could synthesize at commercial scale as of 2021. Patent-encumbered (Acuitas, Alnylam).

5

Source countries

5

Companies

1

Goods affected

0

Claims on record

What depends on it

Goods that need this input

1 essential American goods rely on ionizable lipids for lnp delivery (alc-0315 / sm-102 type) somewhere upstream in their supply chain.

Where it comes from

Source countries

Share of global supply, by country.

Who makes it

Supplier companies

5 companies produce ionizable lipids for lnp delivery (alc-0315 / sm-102 type).

Evonik Industries AG(EVK)

HQ DE35% share

Evonik Industries AG (XETRA: EVK; Essen Germany; MDAX listed); world's largest DL-methionine producer under the MetAMINO brand. Total DL-methionine capacity exceeds 700,000 MT/year across three continental hubs: Jurong Island Singapore (~340,000 MT/year — world's largest single methionine complex, expanded +40k MT August 2024), Theodore Mobile County Alabama USA (~245,000 MT/year), and Antwerp Belgium (~120,000 MT/year). The Wesseling Germany DL-Met line closed Q1 2021 as Evonik consolidated production to the three-hub network. Evonik first commercialized DL-methionine synthesis in the 1950s under predecessor Degussa. MetAMINO is Evonik's largest single product. ~30-32% global market share. In February 2022 Evonik announced a $176.5M investment in a new methyl mercaptan (MMP intermediate feedstock) plant at the Alabama site.

CordenPharma

HQ CH30% share

Swiss CDMO operating European and US API manufacturing sites; primary lipid partner for Moderna; manufactures SM-102 and full LNP lipid component portfolio including ionizable, PEGylated, phosphocholine, and plant sterols; claims largest complex lipid capacity globally

Croda International plc

HQ GB20% share

Croda International plc (Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, UK; LSE: CRDA; ~£1.7B revenue) is a specialty chemicals company producing high-performance ingredients for consumer care, life sciences, and industrial applications. Croda's industrial chemicals division produces fatty acid derivatives and specialty esters relevant to fuel additive formulation chemistry — including dimer acid derivatives that overlap with the chemistry platform of jet fuel corrosion inhibitors. Croda's Goole, Yorkshire facility is its historic UK manufacturing base. Croda is primarily an indirect player in aviation CI chemistry — supplying raw material chemistry platforms rather than finished aviation-specification CI products — but its dimer acid and fatty acid derivative expertise is relevant to the corrosion inhibitor supply chain.

NOF Corporation

HQ JP10% share

Japanese specialty chemical manufacturer; produces PEGylated lipids, phospholipids, and COATSOME ionizable lipid series for LNP drug delivery

Merck KGaA (MilliporeSigma in US)(MRK)

HQ DE8% share

German multinational producing the Hi-Flow Plus nitrocellulose membrane — one of the two industry-standard LFA membranes globally. Received a €121M US DoD/HHS contract to build the first US lateral flow membrane facility in Sheboygan, WI (2022) to reduce concentration risk in Cork, Ireland.