Business Roundup

Arlanxeo, Saudi Aramco’s elastomer business, plans to build a hydrogenated nitrile rubber plant in Changzhou, China, with capacity of 5,000 metric tons per year. The product, made under the Therban name, resists exposure to chemicals, high temperatures, and abrasion.

Perstorp has bought out its minority partner in Shandong Perstorp Chemical, which makes polyols in Zibo, China. The Swedish specialty chemical company established the partnership with Shandong Fufeng Hongjin Investment in 2007.

Syzygy Plasmonics has received an investment of an undisclosed amount from the Japanese rubber producer Zeon. Syzygy is developing Rice University technology for using light to power chemical reactions.

International Chemical Investors Group(ICIG) has acquired a majority stake in Vasant Chemicals, an Indian maker of drug intermediates and specialty chemicals. Vasant will become part of ICIG’s fine chemical division, WeylChem.

Infinium will receive a $75 million investment from the climate change investment fund Breakthrough Energy Catalyst for its Texas plant, which will make sustainable aviation fuel from captured carbon dioxide. The facility will also produce diesel and naphtha.

DSM-Firmenich has sold a vitamin C plant in Jiangshan, China, to Jingjiang Cosfocus Health Technology. The company stopped production last year because of low vitamin prices and high costs.

Akari Therapeutics and Peak Bio will merge as a biotechnology company operating under the Akari name. The new company is developing antibody-drug conjugates that will combine chemotherapy and immunotherapy strategies for treating various cancers.

Shin-Etsu Chemical, based in Japan, will invest around $68 million in its pharmaceutical cellulose business. The company plans to double capacity of the pharmaceutical excipient hypromellose acetate succinate, which is made using plant-derived pulp and used to coat enteric drugs.