Business Roundup

ICI will acquire the fragrance business of privately held Shaw Mudge & Co. for an undisclosed price. Shaw Mudge specializes in creating, marketing, and selling fragrances for consumer applications, particularly hair care; it had sales of $19 million last year.

JSR Corp. will buy out the share held by DSM's Desotech subsidiary in the joint venture Japan Fine Coatings Co. The Japanese firm will get Desotech's display coatings technology and marketing outside of Japan.

Codexis and ScheringPlough have signed a research agreement under which they will develop a novel synthetic process for Schering-Plough. Codexis says it will use its MolecularBreeding technology to improve the process' biocatalytic productivity.

Ranbaxy Laboratories has acquired Senetek PLC's line of disposable autoinjection devices for emergency epinephrine treatment of allergy sufferers who go into shock. Ranbaxy projects 25% annual sales growth for the devices.

PHT International says it is supplying shikimic acid to Roche as part of Roche's Tamiflu manufacturing plan (C&EN, March 20, page 10). PHT extracts shikimic acid from star anise fruit at facilities in China.

RAG has acquired greater than 95% of Degussa shares and has begun to take steps to forcibly acquire the rest. The plan is for a resolution on the "squeeze out" to be passed at Degussa's annual shareholders' meeting on May 29.

Kuraray and Chatani, both of Japan, are launching a 50-50 venture to develop inorganic light-emitting displays. Chatani has invented an ultrabright inorganic electroluminescent material that can be used as a backlight source in liquid-crystal displays.