Business Roundup

LyondellBasell Industries has named James L. Gallogly, 57, its new CEO, replacing the retiring Volker Trautz, 64. Gallogly headed the Chevron Phillips Chemical joint venture from 2000 to 2006. Most recently, he was ConocoPhillips' executive vice president of exploration and production.

DSM is quadrupling capacity for its Stanyl ForTii resins at its plant in Sittard-Geleen, the Netherlands, by the end of the year. These resins, which the company describes as halogen-free, flame-retardant, high-temperature polyamides, were launched under the name PA4T only last year. DSM says the products have been successful in electronic applications despite the poor economy.

Monomer-Polymer & Dajac Labs has acquired Silar Laboratories from Oak Bark Corp. MPD says the organosilanes and silicones made by Silar in Acme, N.C., and Scotia, N.Y., complement its acrylates, methacrylates, and fluorinated molecules made in Trevose, Pa.

BASF is introducing short-time workhours for 1,000 workers at 20 plants in its flagship complex in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The measures are aimed mostly at petrochemicals, inorganics, pigments, and intermediates plants. Currently, 5,200 BASF employees are working short-time hours at 19 sites in Europe.

BASF and Sion Power have signed a joint development agreement to commercialize Sion Power's lithium sulfur battery technology for the electric vehicle market. The collaboration will target increased battery life and energy density to extend vehicle driving range.

SAP will acquire Clear Standards, a provider of Web-based software for measuring, controlling, and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, for an undisclosed sum. SAP plans to integrate the software with its enterprise resource-planning software.

Sanofi-Aventis has paid London-based biotech firm Antisoma $65 million for the U.S. rights to Oforta, an oral treatment for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The cash influx will enable Antisoma to usher its two lead drug candidates through Phase III clinical trials.

Exelixis and Boehringer Ingelheim will jointly discover drugs that modulate the sphingosine-1-phosphate type 1 receptor, a protein implicated in several autoimmune diseases. Exelixis gets a $15 million up-front fee and could score up to $339 million in milestone payments.

The Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates has acquired ChemAlliance, an online compliance assistance center formerly funded by EPA. SOCMA says it will continue to offer ChemAlliance to its members and the chemical industry.