BIOLOGICS
PHARMACEUTICALS
▸ Asahi Glass to buy CMC Biologics
▸ Novartis picks up NASH drug
Japan’s Asahi Glass has agreed to acquire CMC Biologics, a contract manufacturer of biologic drugs, for $510 million. The purchase continues the glass and chemical maker’s push into biologic drug manufacturing. In August, Asahi announced plans to buy the German contract manufacturer Biomeva. Private equity-owned CMC operates plants in Copenhagen, Seattle, and Berkeley, Calif., that produce biologic drug ingredients in mammalian and microbial hosts. It has about 530 employees.—MICHAEL MCCOY
Novartis will pay $50 million up front for access to Conatus’ pan-caspase inhibitor emricasan, a small molecule in Phase II studies to treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The deal adds another drug for the fatty liver disease to Novartis’ portfolio, which already includes an FXR agonist in Phase II trials. The companies will split the costs of a Phase IIb study of emricasan; if successful, Novartis will test it in combination with an FXR agonist. As new drugs offer cures for people with hepatitis C, NASH is forecast to become the leading cause of liver transplants by 2020.—LISA JARVIS
ing small molecules against patient-derived cells will increase the chances of finding drug candidates.—LISA JARVIS
INSTRUMENTATION
PHARMACEUTICAL CHEMICALS
▸ FIS nabs nearby Zach System plant
▸ Celgene, Evotec sign discovery pact Celgene will pay Evotec $45 million up front as part of a broad pact to develop drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, including Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. In conjunction with Harvard University, Evotec has developed a drug screening platform based on induced pluripotent stem cells. The partners hope that screen-
Business Roundup
CREDIT: BRUKER
▸ Honeywell International is suing Illinois-based MEK Chemical seeking royalties and monetary damages from sales of HFC-245fa, a polyurethane foam blowing agent. Honeywell contends that MEK is importing a product from China that violates Honeywell’s production patent. ▸ Eastman Chemical has li-
Bruker Corp. has acquired Active Spectrum, an 11-year-old maker of benchtop microelectron spin resonance spectros-
NEUROSCIENCE
Fabbrica Italiana Sintetici (FIS), an Italian contract manufacturer of pharmaceutical chemicals, has acquired the Lonigo, Italy, plant of Zach System, the fine chemicals division of the Italian drugmaker Zambon. FIS has secured a supply agreement with Zambon. The plant, which is 15 km from FIS’s headquarters site in Vicenza, has 320 employees, bringing FIS’s staff to about 1,700. Separately, FIS hopes to open a quality control lab in 2018 that will host 120 employees.—RICK MULLIN
▸ Afton Chemical, a lube and fuel additives subsidiary of NewMarket Corp., has agreed to buy Aditivos Mexicanos for $183 million. The Mexico City-based firm also makes lube and fuel additives.
▸ Bruker buys microspectroscopy firm
censed rights to a nematicide developed by Eden, a U.K.based provider of terpenes for agricultural use. Eastman, which already makes metam-based nematicides, will pay an up-front fee and make annual milestone payments until sales of the product, called Cedroz, begin in 2019. ▸ ES FiberVisions, a joint venture between Indorama Ventures and Japan’s JNC, plans to expand production of polyolefin bicomponent fiber in Covington, Ga., and Jiangsu Province, China. In December, ES completed a 14,000-metric-ton-per-year
Active Spectrum’s benchtop micro-ESR system. copy systems used for chemistry research, teaching, and in-line analysis of lubricants and beverages. Bruker says the acquisition will give it a platform to develop additional products for industrial and applied markets using compact magnetic resonance technology.—MARC REISCH
fiber plant in Rayong, Thailand. Bicomponent fiber is used to make diaper cover stock and wet wipes.
tion sequencing capabilities.
▸ BioAmber is forming a joint venture with South Korea’s CJ CheilJedang to produce biobased succinic acid in China. The venture intends to produce up to 36,000 metric tons of the intermediate per year at an existing fermentation facility. ▸ Agilent Technologies has signed an agreement to acquire Multiplicom, a Belgium-based genetic testing company, for $71 million. Agilent says the acquisition will enhance its diagnostics and next-genera-
▸ Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay $50 million up front for worldwide rights to PsiOxus Therapeutics’ NG-348, an oncolytic virus that addresses solid tumors. Oncolytic viruses selectively replicate in tumor cells, stimulating an inflammatory response against the cells. ▸ Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has spun off Microbiotica, a new company that seeks to treat disease by harnessing the intestinal microbiome. The investment firms IP Group and Cambridge Innovation Capital are each investing about $5 million in Microbiotica.
JANUARY 2, 2017 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
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