Business Roundup

Fujifilm has sold Mitsubishi Corp. 20% of its Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies subsidiaries in the U.S. and the U.K. Mitsubishi will help Fujifilm market the capabilities of the biopharmaceutical manufacturing businesses.

Air Products & Chemicals has acquired Poly-Flow Engineering, a 100-employee manufacturer of equipment for the semiconductor industry. Based in Albuquerque, N.M., Poly-Flow will join Air Products’ existing equipment business, which operates from four sites in the U.S. and South Korea.

Clariant has named Hans-Joachim Müller to its executive committee. The former head of Süd-Chemie’s catalyst unit, Müller will be responsible for the two main businesses of the former Süd-Chemie, which Clariant acquired earlier this year.

Evonik Industries has increased by 50% its capacity to make pharmaceutical-grade glycine at its plant in Nanning, China. Glycine is used to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients, as a buffering agent in cosmetics, and as a pet food additive.

Monsanto will broaden its Roundup Ready Plus weed management program to include an herbicide made by Amvac Chemical. Amvac’s Impact, a 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase inhibitor, works to control postemergent broadleaf and grass weeds.

Abbott and Biotest have formed a partnership to develop BT-061, an anti-CD4 antibody treatment discovered by Biotest for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. BT-061 is currently in Phase II clinical trials for both indications. Biotest will receive an up-front fee of $85 million.

Battelle Memorial Institute has agreed to license its technology for making polyols from soybeans to Emery Oleochemicals. Polyols are reacted with isocyanates to make polyurethane foams. Work on the technology was funded by the Ohio Soybean Council and the United Soybean Council.

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals and Alcon, a division of Novartis since April, have ended their collaboration around NovaBay’s Aganocide anti-infective compounds. NovaBay will receive nearly $3 million to cover R&D and personnel costs and will regain all rights to the compounds for ophthalmic, otic, and sinus applications.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals will supply Merck & Co. with clinical and commercial quantities of Captisol, a chemically modified cyclodextrin that can improve drug solubility and stability. If the Merck drug containing Captisol is approved, Ligand will supply multiple metric tons per year.