Business Roundup

Altana’s Elantas division has agreed to purchase Changzhou Lantian Ruiqi Chemical’s tris-2-­hydroxyethyl isocyanurate plant and business in Changzhou, China. Altana says the deal will provide it with in-house capacity for an important wire enamel ingredient.

A. Schulman is forming a joint venture with National Petrochemical Industrial Co. of Saudi Arabia to build a $70 million polypropylene compounding plant in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. The partners expect the plant to start up in 2014.

Solutia, Jiangsu Sinorgchem Technology, and Korea Kumho Petrochemical have resolved disputes over Solutia patents on 4-aminodiphenyl­amine, an intermediate used to make rubber anti­degradants. Solutia has granted the other firms manufacturing licenses that are valid until 2019.

Bayer CropScience has agreed to purchase the watermelon and melon seeds business of Pennsylvania-based Abbott & Cobb for an undisclosed sum. Bayer says the acquisition will strengthen its vegetable business, which operates under the Nunhems brand.

PerkinElmer plans to establish a Personalized Health Innovation Center of Excellence at its Hopkinton, Mass., facility. To be in operation by the end of the year, the center will draw on 350 PerkinElmer scientists to aid customers’ research in next-­generation treatments, early detection, and disease prevention.

Sigma-Aldrich Fine Chemicals will consolidate its chiral chromatography screening and small-scale purification operations at its Pharmorphix Solid State Research Laboratories in Cambridge, England. Equipment has been transferred from Sigma-Aldrich’s Supelco Analytical subsidiary in Bellefonte, Pa.

Basilea Pharmaceutica has licensed its eczema treatment Toctino to Stie­fel, the dermatology unit of GlaxoSmithKline. Stiefel will pay about $227 million up front and up to $78 million in near-term milestones. Basilea will use the cash to pay for regulatory filings and studies related to new antibiotics.

Igenica has raised $33 million in a third round of financing, which was led by Third Rock Ventures and included other investors. Burlin­game, Calif.-based Igenica has two technologies for improving the development of antibody-based therapeutics.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has raised $24 million in a second round of financing that included existing investors and the French drugmaker Ipsen. The Boston-based firm will use the proceeds to advance small-peptide therapeutics for metabolic diseases.