Business Roundup

Kuraray will expand its ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer plant in Pasadena, Texas, by 11,000 metric tons per year. The Japanese firm says the project will cost $75 million and be completed by the summer of 2018. It recently opened a polyvinyl alcohol plant at the site and is considering adding a vinyl acetate facility.

Chemours, the former performance chemicals business of DuPont, is asking the state of Delaware for a grant of $9 million. The money will be used for a headquarters pro­ject in Wilmington, Del., and to retain jobs.

Clariant will develop catalysts that work with ethanol-to-olefins technology developed by Gevo, a biobased chemicals firm. Clariant will build upon Gevo-discovered mixed metal oxide catalysts that convert ethanol to propylene and isobutylene.

Stepan will cease all production at its detergents facility in Longford Mills, Ontario, by the end of this year. The company discontinued ethoxylation production at the plant earlier this year.

Amyris has struck a deal with South Korea’s CJ CheilJedang to use CJ’s manufacturing capacity to produce farnesene, Amyris’s main biobased product. Amyris already makes farnesene in Brazil with its partner Bunge.

Avista Pharma Solutions will expand its contract microbiology and analytical chemistry labs in Agawam, Mass. Avista was formed last year through the merger of assets from Accuratus Lab Services, Array BioPharma, and Scynexis.

Arrivo BioVentures has launched with $49 million in committed capital from Jazz Pharmaceuticals and other investors. To be led by Research Triangle Park, N.C.-area entrepreneurs, Arrivo plans to acquire four to six new drug candidates over the next several years.

BASF has sold its Kollicoat IR pharmaceutical tablet coating systems business to Colorcon, a developer of coatings and controlled-release products for the drug industry. The companies say they will continue a tablet coatings cooperation that began in October 2014.