Business Roundup

Eastman Chemical says it has won a federal lawsuit against PlastiPure and CertiChem, sister companies that claimed its Tritan copolyester exhibits estrogenic activity. Eastman says a jury agreed that false and misleading statements were made against Tritan.

Clariant has signed a long-term ethylene supply agreement with Austrian oil and gas firm OMV. At its Gendorf, Germany, site, Clariant makes the ethylene derivative ethylene oxide, which it uses for personal care and other specialty chemicals. OMV produces ethylene in Burghausen, Germany.

Styron has agreed to sell its expandable polystyrene business to the Belgian plastics compounder Ravago for an undisclosed amount. The business includes a production facility in Schkopau, Germany.

Mitsubishi Chemical and South Korea’s Sam­yang are planning a joint venture to manufacture ion-exchange resins in Gunsan City, South Korea. To open in 2015, the plant will have capacity for 20,000 m³ of the resins per year and complement three other Mitsubishi facilities.

Rütgers Organics has agreed to acquire a wood preservative plant in Barrow-in-Furness, England, from Viance, a U.S. wood preservative maker. Rütgers says the purchase expands its presence in Europe.

Evonik Industries plans a “significant” expansion of its precipitated-silica plant in Map Ta Phut, Thailand. The German firm says it will invest “in the lower double-digit million euro range” and complete the project in the first quarter of 2014.

UOP and Showa Denko have formed a joint venture to build a high-silica zeolite plant in Fukushima, Japan. Hydrophobic in nature, the material is used to absorb gases such as volatile organic compounds in environmental and other applications.

FDA has sent a warning letter to the Indian generic drug producer Wockhardt as a follow-up to an import ban the U.S. agency imposed on the company in May. The letter claims that Wockhardt executives impeded FDA officials inspecting a company plant in Waluj, India.

Ensemble Therapeutics and Alexion Pharmaceuticals will collaborate on finding macrocyclic drugs against rare diseases. In return for an up-front payment and research support, Ensemble will screen its compound collection against several drug targets from Alexion.