Business Roundup

Merck KGaA has increased its ownership in Jerusalem-based lighting technology start-up Qlight Nanotech. Merck is working with Qlight to apply the start-up’s semiconductor nanoparticles, known as quantum dots, for use in next-generation display screens.

Frutarom, an Israeli flavors and fragrances firm, has bought a 75% stake in Russian food ingredients firm Protein Technologies Ingredients Group for $50 million. PTI develops and markets savory flavors, seasonings, and functional raw materials for processed meats and convenience foods.

Thermo Fisher Scientific will issue 5.3 million shares to Temasek, a Singapore government-owned investment firm, for $500 million. The money will be used to finance the planned $13.6 billion acquisition of life sciences industry supplier Life Technologies.

Agilent Technologies has introduced a new version of its electronic laboratory notebook software that enables scientists to capture and manage data obtained from other analytical software applications in a laboratory. OpenLab ELN 4.2 also features a printing function that allows users to format data from diverse applications into a PDF without leaving the notebook application.

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the pharmaceuticals arm of Johnson & Johnson, will pay Vertex Pharmaceuticals $152 million for the product royalty rights to the hepatitis C treatment Incivo. The companies partnered in 2006 to develop Incivo in Europe and other markets, where Janssen now has sole ownership of the drug.

Aileron Therapeutics has raised $30 million from existing investors, including the venture arms of Eli Lilly & Co., Glaxo­SmithKline, Novartis, and Roche. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company will use the money to support clinical development of its stapled peptide drugs.

Alliqua has entered a licensing agreement with Celgene Therapeutics, giving Alliqua the rights to develop and market Celgene’s advanced wound-care products Biovance and Extracellular Matrix. Celgene will also purchase $6 million in Alliqua stock.

Sanofi has stopped clinical studies and ended plans to ask regulatory authorities to approve fedratinib, a JAK2 inhibitor in Phase III studies to treat myelofibrosis, a rare cancer of the bone marrow. The decision was prompted by instances of Wernicke’s encephalopathy, a neurological disorder caused by depletion of B vitamins.