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Business

Business Roundup

June 6, 2011 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 89, Issue 23

Sumitomo Chemical will expand facilities for the herbicide flumioxazin at its Oita Works in Japan. The pesticide is primarily used in the cultivation of soybeans, cotton, and sugarcane. It is part of Monsanto’s Roundup weed management plat form.

BASF will add electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries to its intermediates portfolio, making the formulations commercially available by year-end. The company is already developing formulations of organic carbonates for customers in the battery and automotive industries.

Rhodia plans to team up with uranium mining firm Areva to develop deposits containing a mix of uranium and rare-earth elements. Rhodia says the deal will give it access to the strategic metals it formulates for use in electronics, automotive catalysts, and diesel fuel additives.

LyondellBasell Industries has hired an investment banker to help sell its refinery in Berre-l’Étang, France. Lyondell intends to retain the olefins and polyolefins plants on the site. Acquired from Shell in 2008 for $700 million, the refinery “has not fulfilled economic projections made at the time of the acquisition,” Lyondell says.

Sumitomo Seika will more than double capacity for acrylic superabsorbent polymers at a site in Carling, France. The project will boost capacity to 47,000 metric tons per year by spring 2013. Arkema sold the business to Sumitomo Seika in 2008 and still operates the Carling site.

Eastman Chemical will expand its isobutyric acid plant in Longview, Texas, by 20 million lb per year to meet growing demand for the acid as an intermediate for fragrances, solvents, photoinitiators, and other products. Eastman calls itself the world’s largest producer of isobutyric acid.

Affymetrix has named Frank Witney president and CEO, effective July 1. Witney previously headed Dionex, which was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific last month. He was an Affymetrix executive earlier in his career.

Sanofi and the nonprofit Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative have signed a three-year pact for the development of drugs for nine neglected tropical diseases. The organizations will tweak the molecular scaffolds of compounds in Sanofi’s libraries and share the rights to drugs that come out of the collaboration.

Centocor Ortho Biotech will acquire worldwide rights to antibodies from Aveo Pharmaceuticals that target the recepteur d’origine nantais (RON) receptor, which is associated with cancer. Aveo will receive $15 million, half up front and the rest through the sale of newly issued stock. Aveo is also eligible for up to $540 million in milestone payments.

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