Business Roundup

Lonza and Solvay have struck a deal under which Lonza will produce an "important selection" of Solvay's large-volume active pharmaceutical ingredients. The deal represents an expansion of an ongoing commercial partnership.

Ferro has filed its much-delayed financial reports for the first and second quarters of 2006 with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The company says it will file its third-quarter report by year's end.

BASF and employees of its PharmaChemikalien subsidiary have reached a compromise on the restructuring of the firm's Minden, Germany, site. Close to 130 employees will lose their jobs, although they will be transferred within BASF if possible.

Air Products has expanded R&D capabilities at labs in Taiwan and South Korea that support customers in the integrated circuit business. In addition, the firm expanded its Korean site to accommodate a new general chemical lab and provide office space for newly hired R&D staff.

BASF will acquire the fuel-cell component maker Pemeas from Celanese and other investors. Pemeas was founded in April 2004 out of the former Hoechst's fuel-cell activities.

Pharminox, a Nottingham, England-based oncology R&D firm, has signed an agreement with Schering-Plough Research Institute to jointly discover novel small-molecule anticancer therapies. Pharminox says it could win research funding and royalties in excess of $40 million.

Cyanco plans to increase its sodium cyanide capacity in Winnemucca, Nev., by 30 million lb per year. Current capacity is 85 million lb. Cyanco says an uptick in mining activity in the western U.S. has driven up demand for cyanide, used to extract gold and other precious metals from ore.

Carus Corp. has acquired CalciQuest, a Belmont, N.C.-based producer of phosphate chemicals used to treat municipal drinking water. The purchase reinforces CEO Inga Carus' ambition to expand Carus, a privately held maker of potassium permanganate (C&EN, Dec. 4, page 35).