Business Roundup

RadiciGroup Performance Plastics has agreed to acquire Invista’s engineering polymers business for an undisclosed sum. Radici, an Italian engineering plastics maker, says the purchase includes plants in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Born, the Netherlands.

Vertellus Specialties has received approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court judge to move ahead on a sale to its lenders. The firm voluntarily filed for bankruptcy reorganization at the end of May.

TA Instruments has acquired Rubotherm, a German maker of thermogravimetric and sorption measurement instruments. TA President Terry Kelly says Rubotherm opens new markets for TA and extends its position in thermal analysis equipment.

LyondellBasell Industries has picked La Porte, Texas, as the site for the first high-density polyethylene plant to be based on its Hyperzone technology. The plant will have 500,000 metric tons of annual capacity when it starts up in 2019.

Vorbeck Materials, a ­producer of graphene materials, has signed a joint development agreement with ­Reliance Industries Ltd. The two plan to work on graphene-enhanced synthetic elastomers.

Saneca Pharmaceuticals is adding small-scale production capabilities to its active pharmaceutical ingredient facility in Slovakia. With the addition of several smaller reactors, the firm will be able to make batches ranging from 1 to 30 kg. Saneca is a specialist in opiates and controlled substances.

Novasep will partner with Indiana-based Triclinic Labs to provide customers with early-stage solid-state drug development services. Together, the two companies will offer active pharmaceutical ingredient synthesis and solid-form selection, characterization, and optimization.

LG Chem will acquire its former subsidiary LG Life Sciences. With 2015 sales of $400 million, LG Life Sciences supplies fertility treatments, vaccines, contrast agents, and other pharmaceuticals. It was part of LG Chem until 2002.

Horizon Pharma will pay roughly $800 million to acquire rare-disease-focused Raptor Pharmaceuticals. Raptor brings two approved drugs: Procysbi, a treatment for the metabolic disorder nephropathic cystinosis, and Quinsair, an inhaled form of the antibiotic levofloxacin.