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Business

Business Roundup

July 25, 2011 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 89, Issue 30

Ashland’s Aqualon business is building a nonionic synthetic thickener manufacturing unit in Alizay, France. Producing the company’s line of Aquaflow paint thickeners, the plant will help meet increased demand in Europe. Ashland expects to start up the new unit early next year.

Showa Denko will expand Japanese facilities for materials used in lithium-ion batteries. It will triple capacity for artificial-graphite-based anode materials and double that of additives for anodes and cathodes. Showa Denko will also increase capacity for aluminum laminated film by 50%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has acquired Trek Diagnostic Systems, which provides microbiological testing products for drug and clinical lab markets. Based near Cleveland, Trek employs 150 people and had sales of $34 million in 2010.

DuPont has developed a yeast that produces long-chain omega-3 oils to replace fish oil used as salmon feed. The firm says the new yeast, developed in partnership with fish-farming firm AquaChile and covered by more than 55 patents, is a breakthrough in metabolic engineering.

Impax Pharmaceuticals has won $400,000 in funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation to support the development of IPX066, an extended-release carbidopa-levodopa product for the control of motor symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease. IPX066 has already completed two Phase III trials.

Synthos, a Pol ish synthetic rubber producer, and French cleantech start-up Global Bioen ergies will develop a biobased route to the synthetic rubber intermediate butadiene. Synthos will take a $2 million stake in Global Bioenergies. It will provide R&D funding and, potentially, royalty payments on the sale of biobased butadiene for rubber.

AMAG Pharmaceuticals and Allos Therapeutics are merging in an all-stock deal that has a total equity value of $686 million. The biotech firms say the deal will yield annual cost savings of up to $60 million and allow them to achieve positive cash flow in coming years.

Ascletis, a drug discovery joint venture between U.S. and Chinese entrepreneurs, will establish its U.S. R&D center at the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Ascletis was formed earlier this year by Jinzi J. Wu, a former GlaxoSmithKline research executive.

Lonza has signed an agreement to produce Immune Pharmaceuticals’ human immunoglobulin monoclonal antibody for Phase II clinical trials. Known as bertilimumab, the antibody is being studied as a possible treatment for inflammatory disorders.

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