Strategic Intelligence now gathers intelligence for about 1, 500 clients, among them Akzo Nobel, Oracle, Rio Tinto and Shell Chemicals.

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Another European company to step up in recent months has been Akzo Nobel.

FORBES: Executive Bonuses And Corporate Responsibility

These "microspheres" were made by a division of Akzo Nobel in the Netherlands.

FORBES: Magazine Article

ICI, the company that once symbolised British industry, became the target of a takeover bid from Akzo Nobel, a Dutch competitor.

ECONOMIST: British manufacturing

Pfizer is also developing a second antipsychotic, asenapine, with Akzo Nobel (nasdaq: AKZOY - news - people ).

FORBES: Pfizer Antipsychotic Gets New Approval

For the past year, Bayer has tried to marry its drug business to Akzo Nobel and others--but only if Bayer could keep control.

FORBES: Bayer backs down

Moreover, the company has had a string of regulatory disappointments with medicines like indiplon, a sleeping pill, and more recently an antipsychotic that it was developing with Akzo Nobel.

FORBES: Magazine Article

But at least three of the research sites being shut down stand out: those that were originally part of Organon, the pharmaceutical-making arm of the Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel.

FORBES: Merck Shutters Productive Labs

Moreover, the company has had a string of regulatory disappointments with medicines like indiplon, a sleeping pill, and more recently an antipsychotic that it was developing with Akzo Nobel (nasdaq: AKZOY - news - people ).

FORBES: Pfizer: Still In The Game

Shares of Akzo Nobel climbed by 3% to 42.60 euros on Wednesday after the Dutch paint maker announced that it had agreed to become Wal-Mart Stores' main supplier of interior and exterior paints at more than 3, 500 outlets in the United States.

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