September 15, 2008

Hexion Says Huntsman Hid Poor Performance — The fate of Huntsman Corp. is in the hands of Delaware's Court of Chancery.

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Dow Seeks To Divest Acrylics, Latexes — Dow Chemical is exploring the divestiture of its acrylic acid and esters operation in Clear Lake, Texas, and its UCAR Emulsion Systems specialty latex business in North America.

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DuPont, Others Join Eco-Patent Commons — DuPont, Bosch, and Xerox have joined the Eco-Patent Commons, a business effort to help the environment...

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Nalco Teams With Stepan For Oil — Surfactants producer Stepan and water treatment chemical firm Nalco are forming a joint venture, Tiorco, to market their combined line of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) chemicals.

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Partnerships Target Thermal Biomass Energy — Renewable energy start-ups Range Fuels and Ceres will collaborate on R&D of high-yield biomass feedstocks.

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ADA-ES Gets Contract For Activated Carbon — ADA Environmental Solutions has signed what it says is the largest contract to date to supply activated carbon...

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Evonik Sheds U.S. Cyanide Business — Evonik Industries has agreed to sell its U.S. and Canadian cyanide business to private equity company Oaktree Capital Management for an undisclosed sum.

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GlaxoSmithKline Aligns With Cellzome — GlaxoSmithKline has teamed up with the privately owned drug discovery firm Cellzome to find and develop selective kinase inhibitors...

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Xoma and Nabi Garner NIH Support — NIH's National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases has awarded the antibody company Xoma a $65 million contract...

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Software Makers Buy Clinical Trial Firms — Tripos, a supplier of drug discovery informatics products, has agreed to acquire Pharsight...

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Arch Will Acquire Rockwood Pool Line — Arch Chemicals has agreed to acquire Advantis Technologies, a water treatment chemical subsidiary of Rockwood Holdings, for $130 million in cash.

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Business Roundup — Dow Chemical gives money, Sasol earmarks, and Evonik is expanding.

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September 8, 2008

Chlorine Capacity To Grow — Commodity chemicals such as ethylene have received little investment in the U.S. recently, but not so for chlorine.

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Warwick Is Sold To Management Team — The U.S. conglomerate Sequa Corp. has sold Warwick International, a U.K.-based chemical producer and niche chemical distributor, to a management team for about $230 million.

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European Groups Team Up With IBM — The European Chemical Industry Council and five of its members–the chemical associations of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K.–have launched a new initiative, ReachLink...

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One Sasol Project Advances In China — Sasol and Shenhua are teaming up on a feasibility study for an 80,000-barrel-per-day coal-to-liquids (CTL) facility in China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

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Boehringer Ingelheim Taps Chinese Supply — Boehringer Ingelheim and China's Hisoar have entered a production alliance...

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Evonik Will Shut Carbon Black Plant — Evonik will cease carbon black production at its Aransas Pass, Texas, unit at the end of 2008, after which the site will serve as a warehouse.

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Chevron Phillips Closing Puerto Rico Site — Chevron Phillips Chemical is closing its p-xylene plant in Guayama, P.R.

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Sigma-Aldrich To Add High-Potency Plant — Sigma-Aldrich's SAFC Pharma unit will spend $30 million to build a new high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredient (HPAPI) plant in Verona, Wis., near its existing Madison facility.

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BASF And Belgians Target Plant Genetics — In the latest of three agreements signed this year, BASF Plant Science and the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) will work together to research the genetic mechanisms that increase crop yield and tolerance for cold and drought.

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Japan's Shionogi Will Acquire Sciele — Aiming to increase its sales outside its home country, Japanese pharmaceutical firm Shionogi will pay $1.1 billion to acquire Sciele Pharma, a drug company based in Atlanta.

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Pfizer, Medivation Sign Alzheimer's Pact — Pfizer has signed an agreement with Medivation, a San Francisco biopharmaceutical firm...

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Business Roundup — Rockwood Holdings and Kemira have completed the formation of Sachtleben. Also, updates on PPG Industries recent exit, H.B. Fuller Shin-Etsu Chemical acquisitions, and Praxair building hydrogen plants.

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September 1, 2008

King Seeks To Buy Alpharma — Amid this summer's flurry of pharmaceutical sector deal-making, Alpharma, a specialty drug firm based in Bridgewater, N.J., is fending off an unsolicited attempt by King Pharmaceuticals to acquire it for $33.00 per share in cash.

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Chemical Explosion Kills 20 In China — At least 20 people died and 60 were injured on Aug. 26 when a chemical plant exploded in Yizhou, in the southern China region of Guangxi Zhuang.

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Ferro Acquires BP Intermediate — Ferro Corp. has purchased BP's business in 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid, a raw material used to make liquid-crystal polymers.

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Agricultural Firms Investigate Corn Stover — Monsanto will join Archer Daniels Midland and Deere in a research collaboration studying new technologies and processes to turn corn stover—the inedible parts of corn—and other agriculture biomass into animal feed and biofuel.

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Glaxo Signs Deal For Epilepsy Drug — GlaxoSmithKline has formed a collaboration with Valeant Pharmaceuticals to advance retigabine, a neuronal potassium channel opener for the treatment of epilepsy.

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Codexis Expands Its Partnership With Arch — Codexis and Mumbai-based Arch Pharmalabs have expanded an existing three-year supply deal.

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BASF Launches BioBased Polyol ... — BASF has unveiled Pluracol Balance, a line of polyols based on nonedible castor oil that it is positioning as an alternative to petroleum-based polyols.

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... As Dow Debuts Biobased Antifreeze — Dow Chemical has partnered with the automotive supply company South/Win to launch Dow-branded antifreeze for boats, recreational vehicles, and vacation homes.

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Solutia Aids Solar Power Plant — Solutia will supply its Therminol heat-transfer fluid to a solar power plant designed by the Flagsol subsidiary of Germany's Solar Millennium.

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Genzyme And Advinus Target Malaria Drugs — Genzyme and the Medicines for Malaria Venture will work with India's Advinus Therapeutics to develop new drugs to treat malaria.

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DSM Invests In Ingredients Firm ... — DSM Venturing, the corporate venturing unit of the Netherlands' DSM, has acquired a 29.3% stake in Provexis.

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... But Closes Chinese Citric Acid Plan — DSM will close its citric acid plant in Wuxi, China, by the first quarter of next year.

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Dow Forms Water Pact With Universities — Dow Chemical's water solutions business has formed a development partnership with Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and the University of Texas, Austin.

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Business Roundup — Sterling Chemicals has extended an agreement to supply BP. Also news on Denham Capital, Altana, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GFS Chemicals, Materia, Galapagos, Anthill Technologies and Ciba.

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• U.S. Court Gives Patient Experimental Drug — TA U.S. District Court judge in Newark, N.J., ruled last week that a 16-year-old patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy should be allowed to use an experimental drug treatment being developed by PTC Therapeutics and currently in clinical trials. Read more

• Ciba Moves To Reshape Portfolio — Spurred by what CEO Brendan Cummins terms “unquestionably disappointing” first-half results, Ciba plans to reshape its portfolio of specialties businesses to focus on the plastics, coatings, and water-treatment businesses. Read more

• Railroads Tie Up With Urethane — Urethane railroad ties have made their debut in Germany, in the Leverkusen Chempark site of Bayer and other chemical firms. Read more

• Suntech Injects $100 Million in Nitol — China’s Suntech, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of solar cells, has spent $100 million for a minority stake in Nitol Solar, a Russian producer of polysilicon. Read more

• Change At The Helm For Evonik — Evonik has nominated Klaus Engel, 52, to take over as chairman when current Chairman Werner Müller step downs on Dec. 31. Read more

• Sino-Kuwaiti Plant Costs Are Running Up — Kuwait Petroleum estimates that its proposed refining and chemicals joint venture with Chinese state oil and chemical company Sinopec will cost up to $9 billion. Read more

• Tronox Appoints Interim CEO — Tronox named Dennis L. Wanlass interim chairman and CEO succeeding Thomas W. Adams, who will continue as a board member but no longer work for the titanium dioxide maker. Read more

• Bayer TDI Plant Under Way in Shanghai — Bayer MaterialScience has begun construction of its previously announced world-scale toluene diisocyanate plant in Shanghai. The plant, scheduled to start up in 2010, will have initial annual capacity of 250,000 metric tons. Read more

• BASF Synthesizes Hydrophobin — BASF says it has succeeded in synthesizing the protein hydrophobin on an industrial scale. Read more

• Symyx Acquires Integrity Biosolution — Symyx Technologies, in Santa Clara, Calif., has acquired Camarillo, Calif.-based Integrity Biosolution in an all-cash transaction. Read more

• British Biotechs Get Takeover Bids — GeneThera, in Wheat Ridge, Colo., has had its buyout offers rejected twice by the U.K.-based gene therapy company Oxford BioMedica. Read more

• Monsanto Sells Posilac To Lilly — Monsanto will sell its Posilac bovine somatotropin business to Eli Lilly & Co. for $300 million. Read more

• Business Roundup —DSM has acquired the polymerization production assets of Diolen Industrial Fibers in Emmen, the Netherlands. Also news on Air Products & Chemicals, Dow Chemical, ReceptorBio, MDRNA, Cellumen, Roche and Symrise. Read more

• Agrium reaches Deal With Egyptian Government — The Canadian fertilizer company Agrium has reached an agreement with the government of Egypt that resolves a dispute over a blocked Egyptian fertilizer project. Read more

• Workers Strike At Potash Corp. — Unable to come to terms on a contract, some 500 workers at Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan potash mines in Patience Lake, Cory, and Allan, all in Saskatchewan, walked off the job on Aug. 7. Read more

• Road Trip For A Hydrogen Car — Last week, at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, N.J., industrial gas company Linde showcased a BMW 7 Series car powered by a hydrogen internal combustion engine. Read more

• BASF Adds Chelates — BASF has begun building a new plant at its headquarters site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, for production of Trilon M chelating agents. Read more

• CSL Will Acquire Protein Firm Talecris — Australian firm CSL is acquiring Talecris Biotherapeutics in Research Triangle Park, N.C., for $3.1 billion in cash, including $1.2 billion in debt. Read more

• Schering-Plough Expands In China — Schering-Plough has established a wholly owned Chinese subsidiary, Shanghai Schering-Plough Pharmaceutical, by buying out its former joint-venture partners in China. Read more

• Akzo offers Silicone To Replace PTFE — AkzoNobel is debuting a nonstick coating technology positioned as a replacement for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in the cookware market. Read more

• DSM Scores An Antibody Contract — The Munich-based biotech firm MorphoSys has enlisted DSM Biologics to conduct process development work and to manufacture MOR202, a fully human antibody targeting CD38, an immune system glycoprotein. Read more

• British Researchers Join Forces — Five of England’s top medical research centers and hospitals will come together next month to create what they say will be Europe’s leading health research powerhouse.Read more

• UCB Transfers England R&D To BioFocus — Belgian pharmaceuticals company UCB has shifted its England-based medicinal chemistry operation to Galapagos’ services subsidiary, BioFocus DPI. Read more

• Evonik, Partner Open Solar Silicon Plant — Evonik Industries and SolarWorld have opened a solar polysilicon plant near Baden, Germany, that is part of their Joint Solar Silicon (JSSI) venture to produce silicon for the solar energy market. Read more

• Business Roundup —DC Chemical, in South Korea, has signed a contract worth $575 million to supply polysilicon to SolarWorld from 2010 to 2016. Also news on Ashland, Kemira, Lanxess, Chembiotek, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck & Co., Bayer Schering Pharma and Wacker Chemie. Read more

• ImClone Rebuffs Buyout Bid From Bristol-Myers Squibb — ImClone Systems says its board of directors and outside advisers are reviewing Bristol-Myers Squibb’s $4.5 billion bid to acquire the 83% of the biopharmaceutical company it doesn’t already own. Read more

• BP, Verenium Target Cellulosic Ethanol — BP and Verenium have formed a partnership to accelerate the development of ethanol made from the enzymatic conversion of cellulosic raw materials. Read more

• Lafarge Strikes Deal For Synthetic Gypsum — Building products manufacturer Lafarge has signed an agreement to buy synthetic gypsum from Mirant, an Atlanta-based energy company. Read more

• Bayer Names Babe as New U.S. Head — Greg Babe will become the president and CEO of Bayer Corp., the Pittsburgh-based arm of Germany’s Bayer, effective Oct. 1. Read more

• PolyOne Licenses Battelle Patents — Plastics compounder PolyOne has licensed a series of biobased plasticizer patents from Battelle, an independent research organization. Read more

• Air Products Signs China Gases Pact — Air Products & Chemicals has signed a long-term contract to supply oxygen and nitrogen for Weihe Clean Energy’s coal-to-chemicals project to be built at the Weinan Hi-Tech Zone in China’s Shaan’xi province. Read more

• SQM Will Invest $1 Billion in Chile — Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has announced a plan to invest $1 billion by 2010 to expand production of a number of basic chemicals there. Read more

• Marine Products R&D Pact Is Established — British specialty chemical producer Croda has formed a three-year R&D collaboration with Aquapharm Biodiscovery, a Scottish marine biotechnology company. Read more

• EC to Investigate Arsenal, DSM Deal — The European Commission has launched an “in-depth” investigation into competitive implications of Arsenal Capital Partners’ planned purchase of DSM’s specialty products business (C&EN, March 10, page 14).Read more

• 3M Fluid Preserves Smithsonian’s Squid — Curators at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History have selected 3M’s Novec 7100 Engineered Fluid to preserve two giant squids displayed in the new Sant Ocean Hall, set to open in September. Read more

• Oxford Nanopore Licenses Technology — Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a University of Oxford spin-off that develops molecular analysis methods, has exclusively licensed technology developed by Harvard University researchers and collaborators at NIST and the University of California, Santa Cruz. Read more

• Pharmacopeia And Acadia Cut Workforce — Two drug discovery and development companies have revealed restructurings and workforce reductions timed to second-quarter earnings announcements. Read more

• Lonza Sets Up Engineering Unit — Lonza has created Lonza Engineering, a new business based in China that will provide engineering, facility design, and maintenance services for the Chinese market. Read more

• The Medicines Company Buys A German Firm — The Medicines Co. has acquired Germany’s Curacyte Discovery and its lead compound, CU-2010, a small-molecule serine protease inhibitor that is being developed for the prevention of surgical blood loss. Read more

• Business Roundup —Stepan has sold its urethane system business to Bayer for about $10 million. Also news on Almatis, Kemira, Métaux Spéciaux, Evonik Industries, LyondellBasell Industries, Monsanto, and Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals. Read more

• Coal-to-methanol plant set for West Virginia — Consol Energy, the largest U.S. producer of bituminous coal, is working with Synthesis Energy Systems to build an $800 million facility that will convert coal into methanol. Read more

• Rockwood will buy Nalco treatment unit — Rockwood Holdings will pay $75 million to acquire a Nalco business that provides chemicals and services to treat metal. The sale includes a plant in Jackson, Mich. Read more

• American Peptide changes hands — Effective Sept. 1, American Peptide will be owned by Japan’s Otsuka Chemical. Read more

• FMC buying Chinese hydrocolloids firm — FMC plans to acquire Guangzhou, China-based CoLiving Food Ingredients as part of its strategy to increase Chinese market share in specialty hydrocolloid products and services for food and ingredients makers. Read more

• PolyOne will close U.S. and U.K. plants — Polymer compounder PolyOne will close seven plants in North America and one in the U.K. The Cleveland-based company says the shutdowns will result in a net reduction of about 150 jobs. Read more

• Voltaix wins funds from Intel Capital — Voltaix has received $12.5 million in financing from Intel Capital, the investment arm of the computer chip maker. Read more

• Borealis installs Symyx R&D reactors — Polymer maker Borealis has started up a Parallel Pressure Reactor research tool at its innovation center in Porvoo, Finland. Read more

• Dow builds water tech center in Spain — Dow Chemical is spending $15 million to build a water technology development center in Tarragona, Spain. Read more

• Major detergent companies to merge ... — Vestar Capital Partners has agreed to acquire Unilever’s laundry detergents business in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico for $1.45 billion. Read more

• ... As big launderer switches from NPE — Industrial laundry company Cintas is dropping nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE) surfactants at its 175 facilities across North America. Read more

• Arkema snaps up gas odorant maker — Arkema has acquired Louisiana-based Odor-Tech, which specializes in the production, storage, and marketing of odorant blends for natural gas. Read more

• Weylchem ups Grignard reagents — WeylChem will produce Grignard reagents on an industrial scale at its Elgin, S.C., plant. Read more

• Clariant closes in U.K., adds in U.S. — Addressing overcapacity, Clariant will shutter its site in Horsforth, England, a part of its textile, leather, and paper chemicals division. Read more

• Business Roundup —Mitsubishi Chemical will postpone start-up of a recently completed 60,000-metric-ton-per-year polycarbonate resin plant at its Kurosaki complex in Japan. Also news on Oxiteno, Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Dionex, SKC, Rohm and Haas, Süd-Chemie, Lubrizol, and Cobra Biomanufacturing. Read more

• Teva Will Acquire Generics Rival Barr — Jerusalem-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world’s largest generic drug company, has agreed to purchase Barr Pharmaceuticals of Montvale, N.J., the fourth largest generics firm, for $7.5 billion plus the assumption of $1.5 billion in debt. Read more

• Shankland To Get Perkin Medal — Ian Shankland, a physical chemist and director of technology for Honeywell Specialty Material’s fluorine products business, will receive the 2008 Perkin Medal. Read more

• Rockwood Will Buy Pigments Producer — Rockwood Holdings has agreed to purchase Holliday Pigments from British specialty chemical maker Yule Catto for $72.5 million. Read more

• Dupont Danisco Plans Cellulosic Ethanol — The three-month-old DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol joint venture has formed a partnership with the University of Tennessee to build a cellulosic ethanol pilot plant in Vonore, Tenn. Read more

• Change In Store For Cognis’ Oleochemicals — German specialties company Cognis has sold its half-share of Malaysia-based Cognis Oleochemicals to Singapore’s PTT Chemical for roughly $165 million. Read more

• PotashCorp Adds Yet More Capacity — PotashCorp of Saskatchewan will add 2.7 million metric tons of potash capacity by increasing efficiency and boosting production at its Allan, Cory, and Rocanville facilities in Saskatchewan. Read more

• Lyondell Refinery Incident Kills Four — On July 18, a massive crane collapsed at the LyondellBasell refinery on the Houston Ship Channel, killing four workers of Deep South Crane & Rigging. Read more

• Albemarle To House Chinese Fire Facility — One of the many casualties of the earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan province in May was the Sichuan Fire Research Institute, where researchers studied fire protection and managed national fire protection standards. Read more

• Firms Wax Prolific — BASF and Sasol are adding wax capacity in two separate moves. Read more

• GSK Plans Shift In Business Direction ... — British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has established a new set of priorities aimed at reducing its financial exposure to the small-molecule pharmaceuticals business. Read more

• ... As It Signs With Harvard, Cambridge — GlaxoSmithKline has formed drug discovery and development agreements with Harvard University and the University of Cambridge. Read more

• Roche Will Acquire Two Technology Firms — Roche has agreed to shell out more than $300 million for two companies that will broaden its technology platform. Read more

• Air Products To Sell Health Care Business — After a year in which Air Products tried and failed to increase the profitability of its U.S. health care business, the company has decided to look for a buyer for that business unit. Read more

• Alphora Will Add A cGMP Kilo Lab — Ontario-based process development firm Alphora will spend $2.5 million to add a third kilo lab operating under current Good Manufacturing Practices conditions. Read more

• Business Roundup —Albemarle has won a contract to supply Finland’s Neste Oil with catalysts made exclusively for use in Neste’s NExBTL process, which produces diesel fuel from renewable feedstocks. Also news on Gelest, Lenzing, Genzyme, Linde, Ferro, Gedeon Richter, and BioMarin. Read more

• Yara Buys Fertilizer Plant — Norwegian fertilizer maker Yara International has agreed to buy Canada's Saskferco, the nitrogen fertilizer joint venture between Mosaic and provincial government-owned Investment Saskatchewan, for $1.6 billion. Read more

• Linde Secures Silane Supplies ... — Linde has reached two agreements that will increase its ability to supply thin-film photovoltaic makers with high-purity silane gas. Read more

• ... And Offers Alternative To NF3 — Linde is promoting fluorine as an alternative to nitrogen trifluoride after atmospheric scientists expressed concern that emissions of NF3 gas may contribute to global warming. Read more

• SABIC Streamlines European Aromatics — Saudi Basic Industries Corp. will restructure its aromatics operations in the U.K., following a review of the long-term viability of the business. Read more

• Cognis Sheds Fiber Treatments — Specialty chemical supplier Cognis has agreed to sell its Pulcra Chemicals textile and leather process chemicals subsidiary to Germany's Fashion Chemicals for about $40 million. Read more

• Paper Mill May Make Diesel Fuel — The Department of Energy has approved a $30 million grant proposal from Flambeau River BioFuels to build a biofuels plant in Park Falls, Wis. Read more

• Cristal To Buy Titanium Firm — Titanium dioxide pigment maker Cristal Global has reached an agreement to purchase 88% of International Titanium Powder from Titanium Co. of America for an undisclosed price. Read more

• Dow Names CEO For Kuwait Venture — James R. Fitterling has been named CEO of K-Dow Petrochemicals, the proposed $11 billion petrochemical and plastics joint venture between Dow Chemical and Petrochemical Industries Co. of Kuwait. Read more

• New York Gets High-Tech Investments — Momentive Performance Materials, the former General Electric silicones business, is moving its global headquarters to Albany, N.Y., from Wilton, Conn., in August and will build a $65 million, 124,000-sq-ft technology center in nearby Rensselaer County. Read more

• Lonza Snares Novartis Contract — Lonza has secured a long-term contract to help develop and manufacture biopharmaceuticals in Novartis' pipeline. Read more

• Pacific Biosciences Wins Financing — Pacific Biosciences has snagged $100 millio