INFECTIOUS DISEASE
▸ Vertellus completes DEET expansion
or spun off into a company, with proceeds being divided between the institute and the six academic sites.—LISA JARVIS
BIOBASED CHEMICALS Vertellus Specialties has completed an 80% expansion of capacity for the insect repellent N,N-diethO yl-m-toluamide (DEET) N at its Greensboro, N.C., site. The expansion is intended to meet growDEET ing demand prompted by recent outbreaks of the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention just concluded definitively that the outbreak of microcephaly plaguing Brazil is caused by Zika.—MARC REISCH
▸ Paper company makes lignin from pulp
ONCOLOGY
MELODY BOMGARDNER
▸ Sean Parker launches cancer institute The foundation started by tech billionaire Sean Parker is putting up $250 million to create the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, which will support 300 researchers across six academic cancer centers. The institute plans to develop cell-based therapies, expand the number of patients who benefit from checkpoint therapies, and find tumor antigen targets that could lead to cancer vaccines. Any intellectual property it generates will be licensed
In a Canadian first, forest products company West Fraser has begun producing lignin in a $24 million facility at its pulp mill in Hinton, Alberta. The company will use the papermaking by-product to make a natural adhesive for its engineering wood products, where it will substitute for synthetic resins. The company says lignin can also be used to make renewable chemicals, thermoplastic composites, and packaging.—
AMYRIS
▸ BASF has submitted the registration dossier for a new insecticide active ingredient to regulators in the U.S. and Canada. Licensed from the Japanese firm Meiji Seika Pharma in 2010, Inscalis belongs to a new chemical class, pyropenes, that provides a
wormwood, but supplies are subject to shortages.—MELODY BOMGARDNER
ONCOLOGY
▸ Juno boosts cellular therapy partnerships
DRUG DEVELOPMENT
▸ Amyris to revise artemisinin route Industrial biotechnology firm Amyris will work to reduce the cost of making the malaria treatment artemisinin via fermentation with help from a $5 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The company first developed its biotech route to the drug in 2005. The product is also derived from the herb sweet
Business Roundup ▸ Chemtura will expand capacity for 4,4’-methylenebis2-chloroaniline-free polyurethane elastomers in Latina, Italy, by the end of the year. MbOCA-containing compounds are being phased out next year under Europe’s REACH chemical regulatory regime.
An Amyris researcher examines genetically modified microbes under a microscope.
new mode of action against piercing and sucking insects. ▸ DRT, a French producer of pine-based chemicals, has broken ground in Effingham County, Ga., for what will be its first U.S. facility. The Pine Chemicals Association says the plant will be the first greenfield turpentine distillery built in the U.S. in half a century. ▸ Innovia Group has agreed to sell its cellophane business, including a plant in Wigton, England, to Japan’s Futamura Chemical for about $85 million. Futamura, which makes
Juno Therapeutics will collect $50 million now that Celgene has exercised an option to develop its cellular therapies targeting CD19 outside of North America and China. Juno’s CD19 portfolio includes three drug candidates; one, JCAR015, is in Phase II studies to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Last year, Celgene paid $1 billion for the rights to opt in to Juno’s cellular therapies. Separately, Juno and WuXi AppTec have started JW Biotechnology in China to pair Juno’s cellular therapy technology with WuXi’s R&D and manufacturing expertise.—LISA JARVIS
plastic and cellulose films primarily for food packaging, says the business will expand its geographic reach. ▸ Evolva, a Swiss synthetic biology firm, has signed an R&D agreement with the U.S. Navy to create advanced materials. The work targets lightweight, fire-resistant composite materials for use in aircraft, ships, fabrics, vehicles, and construction. ▸ BASF has licensed a suite of nickel-containing cathode materials for use in lithium-ion batteries from CAMX Power. By delivering high energy density and high power, the materials can extend the range of electric vehicles and
the time between charges for portable devices, CAMX says. ▸ Jellagen, a Wales-based start-up, has raised $2.2 million from private equity and government agencies to fund the scale-up of its technology to make medical-grade collagen from jellyfish. Medical applications include wound care, soft tissue repair, and bone grafts. ▸ Incyte will pay Eli Lilly & Co. $35 million for rights to commercialize ruxolitinib, a JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor Incyte developed, for transplant-related graft-versus-host disease. Incyte already sells ruxolitinib as Jakafi to treat polycythemia vera, a blood cancer.
APRIL 18, 2016 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
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