3-D PRINTING
Chemical firms plunge into 3-D printing An increasing number of companies are dedicating efforts to the emerging polymer technology Polymer companies including Arkema, DSM, Lubrizol, and Perstorp are deepening their commitment to three-dimensional printing. They are betting that increasing the number of materials available for the technology will help it take off in manufacturing. DSM has established a new business, DSM Additive Manufacturing, as part of an effort to broaden its 3-D printing business beyond stereolithography, a process that uses lasers to trace parts out of a vat of photopolymer. A leader in that sector for decades, DSM now aims to sell polymers for other 3-D printing techniques, including fused filament fabrication (FFF), in which a machine draws parts layer by layer with melted resin. “Stereolithography is our heritage,” says Hugo da Silva, DSM’s vice president of additive manufacturing. “However, we can play in all polymer printing technologies.” At the Formnext 2017 trade show, which took place last week in Germany, DSM exhibited two resins for FFF. One is a nylon intended for industrial applications such as fuse boxes, electronic hous-
ings, and connectors. A DSM The other is a thermotechnician plastic copolyester elasprints a tomer that boasts heat pyramid in a and chemical resistance 3-D printer. and can be used in under-the-hood automotive applications. The company also acquired a materials development kit from the printer giant HP, which is developing a high-speed 3-D printing technology it calls Multi Jet Fusion. The kit will allow DSM to test the compatibility of its resins with HP’s process. Dow Chemical also acquired a toolkit. Materials, HP argues, are essential to the success of 3-D printing. Ramon Pastor, general manager of Multi Jet Fusion at HP, points out that thousands of materials are available for conventional “analog” processes such as injection molding. “3-D printing will need to develop just as many,” he says. Earlier this month, Lubrizol signed up for HP’s open materials and applications program, joining giants like Arkema, BASF, and Evonik Industries, which have been testing materials at HP’s lab in Corvallis, Ore. Lubrizol will soon test
its Estane thermoplastics polyurethane elastomers. At the Formnext show, HP highlighted a new machine, the Jet Fusion 3D 4210, which it says can print parts 65% more cheaply than other technologies. In addition to its collaboration with HP, Arkema is working with EOS, a German firm whose printers make parts by sintering resin powder with a laser. For EOS machines, Arkema has developed a grade of polyetherketoneketone, which has high-temperature properties that make it suitable for replacing metal parts. Similarly, Swedish chemical maker Perstorp is collaborating with 3-D printing filament provider 3D4Makers to develop Facilan-brand filament for FFF. Perstorp isn’t disclosing the chemistry behind Facilan, but the company is a leader in caprolactone-based polymers. Perstorp claims that Facilan is stronger than acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, a popular resin used in FFF 3-D printing when good mechanical properties are needed, and that it processes better than polylactic acid, a plastic known for being easy to use in 3-D printers.—ALEX TULLO
ONCOLOGY
CR E D I T: D S M
Bayer, Loxo to develop TRK inhibitors In a deal worth up to $1.5 billion, BayN N ence in June, where researchers revealed that it shrank tumors er and Loxo Oncology will jointly N N in 76% of the kids and adults develop two Loxo drug candidates, O in a small study. LOXO-195, larotrectinib and LOXO-195, for N currently in Phase I/II trials, treating cancers caused by a H N is designed to treat people rare genetic mutation. Loxo F who develop resistance to gets $400 million upfront; the LOXO-195 remainder of the money is tied to the OH first-generation TRK inhibitors like larotrectinib. approval and sale of the two compounds. Loxo plans to file for U.S. Larotrectinib and the folN Food & Drug Administration low-on compound LOXO-195 HN O approval of larotrectinib by the both block TRK gene fusions, N N end of the year. Whereas oncola chromosomal mismatch F N N ogy drugs have historically been found in less than 1% of approved based on where tumors cancers. Larotrectinib was a are located—such as the lung or breakout star of the American F Larotrectinib breast—Loxo is asking FDA to alSociety of Clinical Oncology confer-
low its molecule to be used by anyone harboring TRK gene fusions. Earlier this year the agency granted its first such “tissue agnostic” green light, for an immunooncology drug from Merck & Co. Although the deal is lucrative for Loxo, news of it pushed the company’s share price down by nearly 10% last week. The biotech firm previously said it would market its TRK inhibitors itself and earlier this month reiterated its progress in setting up an internal team to prepare for the launch of larotrectinib. Now, Bayer, which some investors view as a second-tier player in oncology, will split U.S. marketing responsibilities with Loxo.—LISA JARVIS NOVEMBER 20, 2017 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
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