Business Concentrates INVESTMENT PETROCHEMICALS
▸ Williams Cos. may sell cracker
Japanese chemical firms pursue diversification
Williams Cos. is looking for ways to “monetize” its ethylene cracker in Geismar, La. Options include selling the 900,000-metric-ton-per-year plant outright and running it for another firm in a tolling arrangement. Williams owns 88% of the plant, with Saudi Basic Industries Corp. holding the balance. Williams is pitching the plant as a way for a company that makes ethylene derivatives to back-integrate without taking on the risk of building its own Gulf Coast facility.—ALEX TULLO
Two Japanese chemical companies are advancing their diversification into biologic materials. Asahi Glass, a maker of glass and basic chemicals, is buying Biomeva, a German contract manufacturer of microbially derived biopharmaceuticals. Founded in 1993, Biomeva operates fermentors with a production capacity of up to 1,000 L and counts major drug firms such as Takeda Pharmaceutical and Bayer among its customers. Asahi Glass is already one of the largest producers of microbially fermented biologics in Japan. Meanwhile, Fujifilm is acquiring a 10% stake in Cynata Therapeutics, an Australian developer of stem-cell-based regenerative medicines. Cynata is developing stem cells that can be used to treat age-related macular degeneration, Parkinson’s disease, and heart disease. Fujifilm made a big push into cellular technology last year with the $300 million purchase of Cellular Dynamics International.—JEAN-FRANÇOIS TREMBLAY
BIOBASED CHEMICALS
The oil refiner Tesoro has agreed to acquire Virent, a start-up developing a chemical process for making fuels and aromatic chemicals from sugar and starch. Virent has been working with Coca-Cola on a cost-effective route to biobased p-xylene as a precursor for the polyethylene terephthalate used in beverage bottles. Tesoro hopes to use Virent technology to make biofuels that garner credits it can use to meet California and federal renewable fuels standards. The two companies have been collaborating since January.—ALEX TULLO
FOSSIL FUELS
▸ Ineos sails from Texas with ethane The Ineos Intrepid, chemical maker Ineos’s ethane carrier, has picked up its first cargo from Enterprise Products Partners’ new
ethane terminal in Morgan’s Point, Texas. The ship will deliver the raw material to Ineos’s ethylene cracker in Rafnes, Norway. The Intrepid picked up ethane from Marcus Hook, Pa., near Philadelphia, earlier this year. The company wants to use U.S. shale-derived ethane to reduce feedstock costs at its European facilities.—ALEX
TULLO
CONSUMER PRODUCTS
▸ Ikea, Neste join for biobased polymers Home goods giant Ikea has joined with the Finnish oil refiner Neste to develop biobased polymers and other materials from renewable or recycled waste. The companies say they will work with other firms in the supply chain. According to Neste, the goal is materials that “are produced with the existing production assets, are fully compatible with customers’ needs, and are recyclable in the current plastics pool.” Ikea says the program is part of its strategy to move away from fossil-fuel-based plastic.—MELODY
BOMGARDNER
RENEWABLES
▸ Covestro advances polyurethane blades The Ineos Intrepid.
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C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | SEPTEMBER 12, 2016
Working in China with partners, the German polymer maker Covestro has created
Covestro and partners fabricated this 37.5-meter wind turbine blade . what it calls the first-ever large polyurethane rotor blade for wind turbines. The company is promoting polyurethane as an alternative to epoxy resins in making fiberglass-reinforced polymer parts. It says polyurethane flows more easily, ensures better wetting of glass fibers, and cures more quickly.—MICHAEL MCCOY
ENERGY STORAGE
▸ Sumitomo invests in battery materials Sumitomo Chemical is making two moves to increase its presence in battery materials. The company says it will boost capacity to make aramid-polyolefin separators for lithium-ion batteries at its plant in Daegu, South Korea. The first phase of the fourfold expansion is set to be complete in August 2017. Separately, Sumitomo will raise its stake in Tanaka Chemical, a Japanese supplier of battery materials, from less than 15.0% to 50.1%.
C R E D I T: I NEO S ( S H I P ) ; COV EST RO ( T U R BI N E BL A D E )
▸ Tesoro buying Virent for biochemicals
FINANCE
The two companies have cooperated since 2013 on cathode materials for car batteries.—JEAN-FRANÇOIS TREMBLAY
▸ Moderna raises cash, invests in manufacturing
OUTSOURCING
▸ India’s Syngene opens lab for Amgen
Cambrex will invest $9 million in this Swedish facility.
Syngene International, a Bangalore-based contract research firm, has opened a lab that will work exclusively for the drugmaker Amgen. The multidisciplinary facility will be staffed by 100 scientists once fully operational. This is the fourth Syngene facility dedicated to a single client. The firm also operates labs for Bristol-Myers Squibb, Abbott Nutrition, and Baxter. Syngene is a subsidiary of Biocon, India’s largest biotech firm.—
JEAN-FRANÇOIS TREMBLAY
PHARMACEUTICAL CHEMICALS
▸ Cambrex expands next in Sweden Cambrex will spend $9 million to expand its small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facility in Karlskoga, Sweden. The investment will add 28 m3 of capacity at the site, roughly a 10% increase, according to Cambrex. “This investment is in response to an increase in demand for larger-scale, multipurpose manufac-
turing capabilities, says Bjarne Sandberg, managing director of Cambrex Karlskoga. Cambrex recently invested $50 million in its Charles City, Iowa, API facility and said it would spend $20 million on further expansion by year-end.—RICK MULLIN
VACCINES
▸ U.S. funds work on two Zika vaccines The Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority has committed to supporting two companies’ early-stage development of Zika vaccines. Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical will receive $20 million over 18 months to complete preclinical work and a Phase I clinical trial of its inactivated whole-virus vaccine. BARDA is also putting $8 million over four years into similar work at Moderna Therapeutics on its mRNA-based vaccine. BARDA may extend the agreements for another five to six years, putting Takeda in a position to receive up to $311 million and Moderna up to $126 million.—ANN THAYER
Business Roundup
C R E D I T: CA MB R EX
▸ Solenis, the former Ashland water treatment business, has acquired Nopco Holding, a Norwegian maker of chemicals for the pulp and paper industry. Solenis says Nopco’s antifoam and deinking products complement its specialty chemicals for pulp and paper. ▸ Chemtura has opened a flame retardants R&D and applications development lab at its research campus in Naugatuck, Conn. Flame retardants experts will be able to work with petroleum additive and urethane researchers who are also
at the site, Chemtura says. ▸ Haldor Topsoe, the Danish catalyst firm, has opened an office in Tehran where it hopes to establish ties with Iranian chemical and refining companies. The international community has been easing sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program. ▸ Idemitsu Kosan and Formosa Petrochemical plan to build a $50 million hydrocarbon resin unit in Taiwan by 2019. The resins will be used in hotmelt adhesives for diapers and other hygiene products.
The mRNA drug developer Moderna Therapeutics has closed yet another gargantuan round of funding. The $474 million in equity financing brings its total cash on hand to $1.4 billion. The money will be used to invest in its mRNA technology and support its growing clinical pipeline—two studies have begun and two more are near. Moderna also plans to build a $100 million manufacturing facility outside Boston to support the clinical trials. The biotech says it will unveil more details this fall.—LISA JARVIS
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
▸ Allergan buys gene therapy firm Allergan will pay $60 million up front to acquire RetroSense Therapeutics, which is developing gene therapies to restore sight in people with eye diseases. With the deal, Allergan gains access to RST-001, a gene therapy being tested in a Phase I/II study against retinitis pigmentosa, a rare disease marked by peripheral vision loss, night vision challenges, and eventual blindness. RST-001 delivers a gene called channelrhodopsin-2 that may allow new photosensors to be created in retinal ganglion cells.—LISA JARVIS
▸ DSM and Green Biologics are part of a consortium of 14 European firms that will demonstrate the conversion of woody biomass to chemicals including butanol, ethanol, and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid. The three-year project will receive $18 million from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program and other sources. ▸ Intrinsiq Materials has raised $3 million in venture funds from undisclosed investors. The Rochester, N.Y.-based company, a spinoff from the U.K. Ministry of Defence, produces metallic nanoparticles and pastes used in applications such as printed electronics.
▸ Monsanto and Second Genome are joining to accelerate the discovery of microbiome-based products that improve agricultural productivity. The companies will focus on proteins that could provide an insect-control benefit for farmers. ▸ Janssen R&D is an industry partner in a $15.4 million effort to develop stem-cellbased methods for screening drugs against schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Johns Hopkins University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies will also participate in the new National Institute of Mental Health-backed program.
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