Business Roundup

Chemtura will expand capacity for 4,4’-methyl­enebis-2-chloroaniline-free polyurethane elastomers in Latina, Italy, by the end of the year. MbOCA-containing compounds are being phased out next year under Europe’s REACH chemical regulatory regime.

BASF has submitted the registration dossier for a new insecticide active ingredient to regulators in the U.S. and Canada. Licensed from the Japanese firm Meiji Seika Pharma in 2010, Inscalis belongs to a new chemical class, pyropenes, that provides a new mode of action against piercing and sucking insects.

DRT, a French producer of pine-based chemicals, has broken ground in Effingham County, Ga., for what will be its first U.S. facility. The Pine Chemicals Association says the plant will be the first greenfield turpentine distillery built in the U.S. in half a century.

Innovia Group has agreed to sell its cellophane business, including a plant in Wigton, England, to Japan’s Futamura Chemical for about $85 million. Futamura, which makes plastic and cellulose films primarily for food packaging, says the business will expand its geographic reach.

Evolva, a Swiss synthetic biology firm, has signed an R&D agreement with the U.S. Navy to create advanced materials. The work targets lightweight, fire-resistant composite materials for use in aircraft, ships, fabrics, vehicles, and construction.

BASF has licensed a suite of nickel-containing cathode materials for use in lithium-ion batteries from CAMX Power. By delivering high energy density and high power, the materials can extend the range of electric vehicles and the time between charges for portable devices, CAMX says.

Jellagen, a Wales-based start-up, has raised $2.2 million from private equity and government agencies to fund the scale-up of its technology to make medical-grade collagen from jellyfish. Medical applications include wound care, soft tissue repair, and bone grafts.

Incyte will pay Eli Lilly & Co. $35 million for rights to commercialize ruxolitinib, a JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor Incyte developed, for transplant-related graft-versus-host disease. Incyte already sells ruxolitinib as Jakafi to treat polycythemia vera, a blood cancer.