tone. The project will be completed in the second half of 2019 and will include new reactors and a new plant for the feedstock peracetic acid.—MICHAEL MCCOY
ONCOLOGY
CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Bolstering its immuno-oncology pipeline, Merck & Co. will pay roughly $135 million to acquire the German biotech firm Rigontec. The deal adds RNA-based therapies targeting the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) pathway, a component of the innate immune system, and includes a RIG-I agonist in Phase I studies as a cancer treatment. Investors in Rigontec, which was spun off of the University of Bonn in 2014, could receive another $415 million if certain milestones are reached.—LISA JARVIS
▸ P&G to divulge fragrance ingredients Procter & Gamble says it will disclose all fragrance ingredients in its consumer products portfolio down to 0.01%. By the end of 2019, P&G’s website will divulge fragrances for more than 2,000 products sold in the U.S. and Canada to “build greater trust in the quality and safety of all our products,” the firm says. The Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization that tracks ingredients in consumer products, applauded the move. Earlier this year, Unilever said it will disclose fragrance ingredients down to 0.01% in home and personal care products by 2018.—MARC REISCH
ENVIRONMENT
▸ BASF hits milestone in catalytic converters BASF’s Huntsville, Ala., facility recently produced its 400 millionth catalytic converter. The company noted the milestone at a recent event announcing the completion of an 18-month expansion project at the site. The Huntsville plant opened in 1974.
▸ Merck buys cancer firm Rigontec
BASF’s Huntsville plant recently turned out its 400 millionth catalytic converter. The first catalytic converters, which reduce emissions from auto exhaust, were installed on cars the following year.—MICHAEL
MCCOY
OUTSOURCING
The Chinese biopharmaceutical firm 3SBio has agreed to buy Therapure Biomanufacturing, a biologics contract manufacturer, for $290 million. Based outside Toronto, Therapure employs about 340 people in North America. 3SBio says the acquisition will add North American purification and plasma source technologies to its Chinese mammalian cell culture capabilities. In 2014, 3SBio acquired Sirton, an Italian contract manufacturer of injectable drugs. Based in Shenyang, northern China, 3SBio produces biotech and chemical drugs for its own brands and for other firms.—
JEAN-FRANÇOIS TREMBLAY
Business Roundup
C R E D I T: BAS F
▸ Air Liquide has licensed a Mitsubishi Chemical process for producing butadiene by butene dehydrogenation. Air Liquide, which supplies butadiene technologies to other firms, notes that the Mitsubishi process allows butadiene to be made at chemical complexes that use feedstocks other than naphtha. ▸ Yuhuang Chemical has awarded Amec Foster Wheeler a $604 million contract to help build its planned methanol plant in St. James Parish, La. The $1.85 billion plant
DRUG DISCOVERY
▸ Chinese firm acquires ▸ Bioverativ, Bicycle Canadian contractor sign peptide pact
will be the largest grassroots Chinese chemical investment on the U.S. Gulf Coast. ▸ Reliance Industries will acquire Kemrock Industries, an Indian producer of carbon fiber composites. Reliance, also of India, says the purchase will mark its entry into the composites business. ▸ Clariant will make a low single-digit million-dollar investment in its oil services sites in Midland, Texas, and Clinton, Okla., The investment will be completed
Bioverativ and Bicycle Therapeutics will work together to develop treatments for hemophilia and sickle cell disease. Under the pact, Bicycle scores $10 million up front and $4 million in research funding from Bioverativ, a blood disorder company that was spun off of Biogen earlier this year. Bicycle will develop chemically constrained peptides, which combine the target specificity of an antibody with the tissue penetration of a small molecule, through lead optimization. Bioverativ will handle preclinical and clinical studies.—LISA JARVIS
by the end of the year and includes new or expanded technical labs at both locations. ▸ Sika is acquiring KVK Holding, a building products maker with $44 million in annual sales. Based in Prague, KVK operates three mortar plants, two bituminous membrane plants, and one expanded polystyrene insulation plant. ▸ Frutarom Industries is on the acquisition trail again, this time agreeing to purchase 51% of Israeli competitor Turpaz Perfume & Flavor Extracts for $13 million. Turpaz has annual sales of
$6 million and is Frutarom’s seventh acquisition this year. ▸ Lonza will increase contract production of Portola Pharmaceuticals’ AndexXa, a modified human Factor Xa under FDA review as a blood coagulant. Lonza’s Visp, Switzerland, plant will join its Porrino, Spain, facility as a production site. ▸ Sanofi will work with Axxam, an Italian contract research organization, to optimize small molecules targeting a range of central nervous system diseases. Axxam was formed in 2001 as a Bayer spin-off.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2017 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
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