Business Roundup

Marrone Bio Innovations has been warned by the NASDAQ Stock Market that it may lose its listing for failing to file a financial statement for the quarter ending Sept. 30. The maker of biobased pesticides earlier notified investors that it is investigating financial irregularities going back to 2013.

BASF has sold a facility that processes natural fish oils, medium-concentrated omega-3s, and bottled fish oil in Brattvåg, Norway, to Marine Ingredients for an undisclosed sum. BASF says the sale lets it focus on highly concentrated omega-3 fatty acids following its acquisitions of Equateq and Pronova BioPharma.

Nippon SHOKUBAI has initiated a lawsuit in South Korea against LG Chem, a major South Korean chemical firm. Japan’s Shokubai, the world’s largest producer of super­absorbent polymer, claims LG is infringing its patents on superabsorbents and related production methods.

AbbVie has acquired a facility for producing small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients in Singapore. The plant is located at the same site where the company is planning to build a bulk biologics facility. The two plants will employ 250 people by 2019.

Merck & Co. has licensed NewLink Genetics’ rVSV-EBOV, an Ebola virus vaccine currently in Phase I studies. If the results are favorable, a Phase III study is planned for early 2015. The vaccine was discovered by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

AstraZeneca is investing $200 million to increase biologics capacity at its Frederick, Md., facility. The expansion, set for completion in mid-2017, is expected to add 300 jobs. AstraZeneca says the investment is needed to support projects in its late-stage pipeline, nearly half of which are biologics.