Business Concentrates ▸ Ineos begins shipping U.S. ethane to Europe Ineos has shipped its first load of shalegas-derived ethane from the port of Philadelphia to its ethylene cracker in Rafnes, Norway. The Ineos Intrepid, the world’s largest liquid natural gas ship, set out earlier this month carrying 27,500 m3 of ethane. The gas is cooled to –90 ºC for the 3,800-km journey, which took about 10 days. “We know that shale gas economics
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Chemical deals to surge Global chemical industry merger and acquisition activity is surging in 2016 and is likely to outstrip 2015. With the pending combination of Dow Chemical and DuPont and ChemChina’s $43 billion deal to buy Syngenta, 2016 is on track to be a record year, according to a report from management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. The combined value of those two deals alone sets up the industry to surpass 2015 acquisitions totaling $110 billion and top the previous industry peak of $151 billion in 2011. Megadeals, such as last year’s $17 billion acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich by Merck KGaA and ChemChina’s $9 billion purchase of Pirelli, have been driving up overall deal value, but Kearney says deal volume should also increase in 2016. In 2015, 1,003 deals closed, down 3% from 2014. Hedging its bets, investment banking firm Valence Group says 2016 could be close to another record year. Given healthy chemical company balance sheets and limitations on organic growth in the current economy, Valence says many firms will try to expand through acquisition in the months ahead.—MARC REISCH
both made with what Ube calls its nitrite technology.—MICHAEL MCCOY
Ineos has begun supplying low-cost U.S. ethane to its crackers in Europe. revitalized U.S. manufacturing, and for the first time, Europe can access this important energy and raw material source too,” says Ineos Chairman Jim Ratcliffe.—
ALEX SCOTT
ENERGY STORAGE
▸ Ube plans more battery electrolyte Japan’s Ube Industries has licensed technology to China’s CNSG Anhui Hong Sifang for a 100,000-metric-ton-per-year plant in Hefei, China, that will make the solvent dimethyl carbonate (DMC). The two firms also will form a joint venture to convert 10,000 metric tons of the solvent into a high-purity version suitable for use as an electrolyte O in lithium-ion batteries for elecCH3O OCH3 tric vehicles. In a related deal, Ube Dimethyl carbonate licensed a process for making dimethO yl oxalate (DMO), CH3O an ethylene glycol OCH3 raw material, to O CNSG. The DMC Dimethyl oxalate and DMO are
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C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | MARCH 21, 2016
PETROCHEMICALS
▸ Total follows BASF into Iran French oil and chemical firm Total has signed an agreement with the National Petrochemical Co. of Iran to study a petrochemical complex in Iran. The complex would include a steam cracker and downstream chemical plants that would use feedstocks including ethane, naphtha, and liquid petroleum gas. The French firm’s planned entry into Iran follows agreements between NPC and a string of European firms including BASF, which is understood to be considering a $4 billion petrochemical complex in the country.—ALEX SCOTT
FOOD INGREDIENTS
▸ Solazyme shifts to specialty food Algal products maker Solazyme will divest its business in industrial chemicals and biofuels and focus instead on food, nutrition, and personal care ingredients. In keeping with its new emphasis, the firm has changed its name to TerraVia. The company’s portfolio will be headlined by lipid-rich flours, protein powders, and cooking oils derived from algae. It will continue to market algal oils to the per-
sonal care industry, including through its recently renewed partnership with Unilever. A group of food industry investors will provide $28 million in financing. CEO Jonathan Wolfson, a Solazyme cofounder, will be replaced by an executive with food industry experience. Wolfson has been named chairman of the board.—MELODY
BOMGARDNER
BIOBASED CHEMICALS
▸ Deinove and Arbiom target forestry waste French fermentation start-up Deinove and North Carolina-based biorefining firm Arbiom will combine their technologies in a demonstrator project at Arbiom’s pilot facility in Norton, Va., to produce biobased chemicals from forestry waste. Arbiom will pretreat the waste with phosphoric acid and apply hydrolysis. Deinove will use engineered Deinococcus bacteria to ferment the resulting sugars into target chemicals. Lab tests are promising, the firms say.—ALEX SCOTT
RESEARCH FUNDING
▸ 3M debuts R&D laboratory … 3M has opened a $150 million R&D building at its headquarters in St. Paul. The 44,000-m2 facility will bring together under one roof up to 700 scientists pre-
I N EO S
FOSSIL FUELS
viously housed in different buildings. 3M says the lab opens up collaboration opportunities for scientists working on diverse products such as higher-energy batteries, ceramics, and electronics. “You must devote time, energy, 3M opened new and capital to enlabs in St. Paul. courage a culture
where people feel empowered,” says Chief Technology Officer Ashish Khandpur.—
PEOPLE
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
▸ Cabot and DuPont name executives
▸ Group challenges Pfizer patent
Cabot and DuPont have named new executives. At Cabot, Sean D. Keohane has been named president and CEO, succeeding Patrick M. Prevost who is stepping down because of health concerns. Keohane was previously head of Cabot performance materials. At DuPont, Randy L. Stone has been named president of the performance materials business, succeeding Patrick E. Lindner who has joined fluoropolymer specialist W.L. Gore & Associates. Stone was previously global business director of the materials business.—MARC REISCH
Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, has filed a “patent opposition” in India against the Pfizer pneumonia vaccine Prevenar. MSF argues that Prevenar does not merit a patent because the method it uses to conjugate 13 serotypes of streptococcus pneumonia was not granted a patent in Europe. MSF claims that an Indian drug firm has offered to supply the vaccine for $6.00 per shot, or $4.00 less than Pfizer’s lowest price in low-income countries. Pfizer says it has not yet seen MSF’s petition and that it is still in discussions with Indian government health officials.—JEAN-FRANÇOIS TREMBLAY
ONCOLOGY
INVESTMENT
▸ Roche and Blueprint pursue immunotherapy
▸ Shire takes on an ex-Cubist site
Roche will pay Blueprint Medicines $45 million up front as part of a broad pact to develop small-molecule cancer immunotherapies. Roche has the option to license up to five small molecules targeting immunokinases, proteins that play a role in regulating immune cells’ response. Blueprint is tasked with early development of the drug candidates, and Roche can buy into each program after Phase I data are available. Blueprint could secure close to $1 billion more in option and milestone fees if Roche licenses all five programs.—LISA JARVIS
Shire has leased two of the three former Cubist Pharmaceuticals buildings in Lexington, Mass. Merck & Co. bought Cubist in early 2015 and subsequently shuttered early research at the antibiotics firm. That closure provided an opportunity for Shire, which according to an official has seen its headcount in Massachusetts grow by 700 people. “Given this growth, Shire continues to review our corporate, R&D, and manufacturing space needs,” the official says. Shire gained a research center in Cambridge, Mass., through its acquisition of Baxalta.—LISA JARVIS
MARC REISCH
RESEARCH FUNDING
▸ … As Asahi Kasei centralizes R&D Asahi Kasei will spend $26 million to consolidate the research activities at its site in Mizushima, Japan. About 150 researchers who now work in two different parts of the site will be joined after Asahi completes construction of a six-floor facility in the summer of 2017. The firm will also renovate facilities in an adjacent building. Asahi expects that putting researchers together will facilitate collaboration in the fields of catalysts, processes, and new materials.—JEAN-FRANÇOIS TREMBLAY
Roundup
3M
▸ BASF and South Korea’s Kolon Plastics have formed a joint venture to build a 70,000-metric-ton-per-year polyoxymethylene, or polyacetal, plant at Kolon’s site in Gimcheon, South Korea. Both companies already make the engineering plastic. BASF will close its German polyacetal plant after the Korean plant opens. ▸ Covestro has secured $1.7 million from the German government to develop a pro-
cess for making elastomers from waste carbon dioxide. Covestro will work on the three-year project with RWTH Aachen University and the Technical University of Berlin.
treatments. As part of its deal with Hitachi, PCT will become a contract manufacturer for Japanese drug companies, hospitals, and research institutes.
▸ Ineos will buy Solvay’s 50% share of the two firms’ chlorovinyls venture Inovyn by the second half of 2016. Solvay had originally planned to exit the business in July 2018.
▸ Bayer has opened an East Coast Innovation Center in Boston to tap into the life sciences community there. Bayer says the site will allow it to expand its drug development partnering activities in the region, where it already has relationships with organizations such as the Broad Institute, Crispr Therapeutics, and Dimension Therapeutics.
▸ Hitachi Chemical has acquired a stake in New Jersey-based PCT, a manufacturer of cells used in regenerative medicine, particularly cancer
▸ Takeda Pharmaceutical and Frazier Healthcare Partners have formed Outpost Medicine to develop TAK-233 (now OP-233), a clinical-stage small molecule being studied for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence. Outpost has raised $41 million in financing. ▸ GlaxoSmithKline’s CEO, Andrew Witty, says he plans to retire in early 2017. Witty has led the British drugmaker for nearly 10 years. GSK says it will search internally and externally for his replacement.
MARCH 21, 2016 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
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