Business Roundup

Bayer MaterialScience says it may cut up to 700 positions worldwide over the next four years in order to remain competitive in the face of new competitors, overcapacity in some areas, and Europe’s economic slump. The firm also says it may divest some smaller businesses.

TFL, a German maker of leather finishing chemicals, has been acquired by Black Diamond Capital Management, a U.S.-based private equity fund. TFL, which has 950 employees, says the acquisition will allow it to continue to invest in research.

BASF will spend $42 million to build a polyurethane blending facility, or systems house, in Geismar, La. Set to open in the second quarter of 2014, the plant will add to the company’s network of 40 systems houses.

Novozymes will supply enzymes to a cellulosic ethanol plant being built by the Brazilian firm Raízen. The plant is set to open by the end of 2014 with 40 million L of annual capacity. Novozymes says it will also establish enzyme manufacturing capacity in Brazil.

Sibur, a leading Russian chemical company, has signed a long-term agreement to purchase additives from BASF for use in polymer production at Sibur facilities. The firms will also collaborate on projects aimed at improving the properties of thermoplastic elastomers.

Kuraray will spend $15 million on two plant expansions in Japan. The Japanese firm will increase by 3,000 metric tons per year its capacity for heat-resistant nylon used in light-emitting diodes for lighting. And it will raise by 600 metric tons its capacity for liquid-crystalline polymer film used in printed circuit boards.

JSR is buying an unspecified stake in Natrix Separations of Burlington, Ontario. Natrix has developed membrane-based products for the purification of biopharmaceuticals that the Japanese firm will distribute worldwide. Last year JSR launched its own process for monoclonal antibody purification.

Lanxess has acquired a plant in Epierre, France, from the bankrupt Dutch company ThermPhos. The site produces phosphorus pentoxide and polyphosphoric acid, which are used as intermediates for products such as flame retardants and pharmaceuticals.

AkzoNobel’s paints research group has extended a collaboration with the chemical nanoscience group of England’s Newcastle University aimed at improving understanding of antifouling coatings. The agreement follows the partners’ recent completion of a proof-of-concept study for micronutrient fouling control.

AstraZeneca’s filing of a New Drug Application for the opioid-induced constipation treatment naloxegol triggered a $70 million payment to Nektar Therapeutics. AstraZeneca licensed the pill, which deploys Nektar’s small molecule-polymer conjugate technology, in 2009. Nektar stands to gain another $375 million if the product reaches certain sales targets.