Business Roundup

Sichuan Tianqi Lithium Industries has agreed to acquire a lithium carbonate plant in Jiangsu, China, from Australia’s Galaxy Resources in a deal valued at $230 million. Last year China-based Tianqi acquired the Australian firm Talison Lithium for more than $800 million.

Honeywell is installing a new line at its Chesterfield, Va., site that will have 40,000 metric tons per year of nylon 6 and nylon 6/6,6 copolymer capacity. When the new plant opens in 2015, the company’s total nylon capacity at the site will be 200,000 metric tons.

Celanese will expand the plastics compounding capabilities of its facility in Nanjing, China, by adding polyphenylene sulfide compounding machinery by the end of the year. Celanese manufactures PPS resin in Wilmington, N.C., through a joint venture with Japan’s Kureha.

Ambri has raised $35 million in a third round of equity financing. The Cambridge, Mass.-based firm is developing an electricity storage battery based on three self-separating liquid layers—two metals and a salt. The technology was invented in the lab of MIT professor Donald R. Sadoway.

Lupin of India and Yoshindo of Japan, both generic drug producers, have agreed to form a joint venture that will market Lupin-produced generic biopharmaceuticals in Japan. Unlike most countries, Japan has clear regulations governing biosimilar drugs, the Indian firm notes.

Meda, a Swedish maker of specialty drugs, has rejected a second takeover offer by Mylan, the largest U.S. generic drug company. Meda says its board has concluded that Meda has potential as a stand-alone company.

Merck & Co. has teamed with the Lexington, Mass.-based biotech firm Agenus to develop therapeutic antibodies to immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of cancer. Agenus is tasked with discovering antibodies against two Merck checkpoint targets. It could gain up to $100 million in milestone payments as the projects progress.

MorphoSys has formed a partnership with the Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research at Temple University. Under the pact, Moulder will get access to MorphoSys’s Ylanthia technology for validating drug targets and generating therapeutic antibodies.MorphoSys will have an exclusive option to develop any resulting drug candidates.