Business Roundup

Bayer MaterialScience will invest more than $90 million in a plant producing the coating raw material isophorone diisocyanate in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park. Bayer says the project is part of an ongoing $1.4 billion expansion of its production capabilities in China.

Dow Chemical has developed a high-molecular-weight brominated polymeric flame retardant and licensed it to Chemtura. Dow says the product, intended for use in extruded and expanded polystyrene, is a replacement for hexabromocyclododecane.

Solutia will acquire Aimcore Technology, a Taiwanese conductive film maker, for $7 million in a bid to expand manufacturing capacity in Asia. The new capacity will be devoted to producing Flexvue films, used in touch screens, solar applications, and e-readers.

GreenCentre Canada is launching its first spin-off company, Switchable Solutions. The new firm is developing a solvent technology that it describes as green, reusable, and of low toxicity. Switchable Solutions says the solvent may improve the recycling of postconsumer polystyrene.

Merck KGaA has launched the Merck Serono Israel Bioincubator Program to develop start-up biotech companies in Israel. It plans to devote about $14 million over seven years to the effort. Meanwhile, Merck Chemicals will invest about $4 million over three years in start-up Israeli life sciences mate­rials companies.

Lonza will spend $23 million to expand capacity at its Slough, England, biologic manufacturing facility by the end of 2012. The project entails the construction of a 60,000-sq-ft building adjacent to the existing facility, a new fermentation suite, purification suites, and development labs.

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma has licensed Intercept Pharmaceuticals’ obeticholic acid, a farnesoid X receptor that has completed Phase II trials as a liver disease treatment. New York City-based Intercept will get $15 million up front and up to $300 million in milestone payments.

ChemDiv and Emerald BioStructures have formed an alliance to provide drug companies with small-molecule discovery services. The alliance combines ChemDiv’s compound library and discovery platform with Emerald’s structure-based discovery skills.