Business Roundup

Cambrios has raised $14.5 million in its fourth round of venture funding. The electronic materials start-up will use the money to commercialize its nanotechnology-based coating for transparent conductive films.

Equinox Chemicals will spend about $5 million to expand its custom chemical plant in Albany, Ga., by the end of 2010. The six-year-old organic chemistry firm expects to add up to 40 employees to its current workforce of 33 people.

Lubrizol plans to close its Chagrin Falls, Ohio, facility, ending production of overprint coatings and varnishes as the company focuses on higher growth markets. Most of the 35 employees in the unit will lose their jobs when it closes at the end of January.

Nalco is launching pilot production of quaternized dimethylaminoethyl acrylate at its Bedford Park, Ill., plant. The company says it will employ a patent-pending process to make the water treatment chemical, which is supplied by only a few companies worldwide.

Celanese has signed a long-term agreement to supply vinyl acetate to the Chinese firm Jiangxi Jiangwei High-Tech Stock. Celanese says Jiangxi will stop making vinyl acetate from calcium carbide for environmental and cost reasons.

China's Ministry of Commerce will start collecting antidumping duties on adipic acid produced in the U.S., Europe, and South Korea. The duty charged on products from the U.S. firm Ascend Performance Materials will reach 17%, whereas BASF in Europe will be charged 10%.

GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer have launched ViiV Healthcare, a joint venture focused on HIV drugs that was first unveiled in April. ViiV, 85% owned by GSK, has 10 drugs on the market with combined revenues of roughly $2.6 billion.

Biovitrum is acquiring Swedish Orphan, a fellow Swedish drug company, to create a new specialty pharmaceutical firm with annual sales of about $285 million. The price of the deal is roughly $500 million, payable to Swedish Orphan's investment firm owners.

Lonza has acquired Algonomics for an undisclosed sum. The 12-employee Belgian firm provides immunogenicity prediction services. Lonza says Algonomics' technology will help it create, optimize, and manufacture biologic drugs for its customers.