Business Roundup

Tessenderlo is reorganizing activities at its Calaire Chimie fine chemicals subsidiary in Calais, France. The Belgian specialty chemical firm says it might cut 51 of the 251 jobs at the site. It attributes the regrouping to a 52% sales drop at Calaire last year.

Nalco has acquired Res-Kem and General Water Services, related Philadelphia-area companies that supply water treatment services and equipment. Nalco says the deal builds on its 2009 Crossbow Water acquisition in the Midwest by expanding its specialty equipment and pretreatment services capabilities.

Nippon Sheet Glass of Japan has nominated former DuPont executive Craig Naylor to be its new CEO. Most recently a director for auto parts maker Delphi, Naylor left DuPont at the end of 2006 after 35 years at the U.S. firm. His last position at DuPont was head of the electronics materials business.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has acquired Proxeon, a Demark-based supplier of nanoflow chromatography systems for proteomics analysis. Proxeon had revenues of approximately $10 million in 2009 and has nearly 40 employees.

Cell Therapeutics is laying off 36 employees after FDA failed to approve its New Drug Application for pixantrone, a novel azaanthracenedione in development for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After savings of $16 million from the workforce reduction, the company now projects operating expenses will be roughly $60 million in 2010.

Oracle has agreed to pay $685 million for Phase Forward, a leading supplier of software for managing clinical trials in the pharmaceutical industry. Health care is one of several markets that Oracle, a computer systems giant, has tagged for development.

Novartis is eliminating about 383 positions at its U.S. headquarters in East Hanover, N.J. The company says 35% of the cuts will be achieved by not filling vacant positions. The reductions will result in a $24 million charge and in annual savings of $56 million starting next year.

Elan Corp., a pharmaceuticals firm, is studying the option of splitting itself into two separately listed companies focused on neurology and drug delivery technology. The company claims the two units are both profitable but represent “vastly different investment propositions.”