The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) announced the approval of six new companies for membership, bringing the total number of new members this year to 26. The companies, which range from industry service providers and distributors to those providing research and development, were approved by SOCMA’s Board of Governors on December 5.

"The addition of these companies speaks to the diversity of SOCMA's membership, and we are pleased to welcome them on board," said Dave Hurder, vice president of McGean and chairman-elect of SOCMA's Board of Governors. "These companies provide services and products to our manufacturing members and can establish new business partnership through their affiliation with SOCMA."

"Joining SOCMA has made it easier to network with key decision makers in the chemical industry and has provided us with new opportunities to expand our company's outreach in the waste disposal market," said Mary Linn Leonards of Heritage Environmental Services.

The companies approved for membership are:

BioChemInsights, Malvern, PA – provides database tolls for information systems and knowledge management through leading-edge databases on the chemistries and markets for Life Science Molecules. BioChemInsights also works with life science and biotechnology businesses to develop new sources for key intermediates and APIs based on green chemistry.

Cardno, Arlington, VA – A professional environmental consulting company, Cardno specializes in water resources management, environmental liability and risk management, natural resources management, and permitting and compliance. The strength of the Cardno brand extends across more than 180 worldwide offices and represents an employee base of more than 4,600.

Heritage Environmental Services, Indianapolis, IN – is one of the country's largest full-service environmental firms. Headquartered in Indianapolis and with locations throughout the U.S., Heritage works with companies across many industries, offering a variety of services such as waste treatment and disposal, a nationwide transportation network, laboratory testing, industrial maintenance, lab pack, product recovery, product manufacturing and byproduct management.

InventyS, Mumbai, India – is part of the Multi Group of Companies, one of India's leading groups in the area of organic chemicals for Agro/Pharma and other applications. Inventys specializes in building dedicated facilities for supplying advanced intermediates and specialty chemicals to the pharmaceutical and agricultural chemicals sector.

Pharmatek Laboratories, San Diego, CA – is a pharmaceutical chemistry development organization supporting the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Pharmatek focuses on bringing client compounds from discovery to the clinic with services that include compound selection, analytical development, preformulation testing, formulation development, GMP manufacturing, stability storage and testing and highly potent and cytotoxic development and manufacturing.

SARmont, St. Louis, MO – provides medicinal chemistry design and lead optimization services. Its scientific team is led by Dr. John Talley, inventor of Celebrex and seven other drugs that have reached the market. The company works with clients to identify and optimize proprietary investigational new drug (IND) candidates using a combination of rational drug design, insightful activity trend analysis, informed interpretation of medical need and careful synthetic planning.

For more information, visit www.socma.com.