Business Roundup

Dow Chemical has won a $61.7 million patent suit against Nova Chemicals in a federal court in Delaware. In the suit, originally filed in 2005, Dow alleged that Nova was infringing on patents for polyethylene blends for film and other products.

FMC has acquired the fluthiacet-methyl businesses of the Tokyo-based firms Kumiai Chemical and Ihara Chemical. FMC distributes fluthiacet-methyl, which is used to control glyphosate-resistant broadleaf weeds, in the U.S.

International Specialty Products has formed a sunscreen manufacturing alliance with India-based Vivimed Labs. Beginning on Oct. 1, Vivimed will produce a range of ultraviolet light absorbers that ISP will supply to makers of sun-protection sprays and lotions.

OCI plans to invest about $180 million to expand capacity for polysilicon by 5,000 metric tons per year at its plant in Gunsan, South Korea. The expansion is expected to be completed next year. OCI will then have 32,000 metric tons of polysilicon capacity.

DSM has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a civil price-fixing suit brought by customers that purchased ethylene propylene diene rubber between 1997 and 2001. A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for Connecticut must approve the class-action settlement before it becomes effective.

Enavail plans to construct a facility in Abilene, Texas, that will provide commercial-scale particle engineering technology to the pharmaceutical industry. To open later this year in the Abilene Life Sciences Accelerator, the 1,800-sq-ft operation will enhance drug candidates that have poor water solubility.

MP Biomedicals has agreed to acquire the protein biologics manufacturer ICPbio International. MP, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based provider of life sciences, fine chemicals, and diagnostic products, says ICPbio’s New Zealand facility uses chromatographic extraction to produce high-purity serum protein materials such as thrombin and transferrin.

DSM will manufacture an antibiotic at its Capua, Italy, microbial fermentation facility for the U.K. biotech firm Novacta Biosystems. The antibiotic, a naturally derived compound known as a lantibiotic, will be used in trials as treatment for hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infections.