Business Roundup

AkzoNobel says it is in talks to acquire BASF’s industrial coatings business, which has about $250 million in annual sales. BASF put the business up for sale in November, according to industry reports. They say the business could fetch more than $500 million.

Mitsui & Co. will invest an additional $25 million in BioAmber Sarnia, its biobased succinic acid manufacturing venture with BioAmber. The deal increases the Japanese firm’s stake to 40% from 30% and gives it a bigger role in commercializing succinic acid made at the Canadian plant.

Solenis, the former Ashland water treatment chemical business, will invest $5 million to double its polyacrylamide powder capacity in Perm, Russia. The powders are used in water-intensive industries such as pulp, paper, chemical processing, mining, and oil and gas production.

Arlanxeo will be the new name of the synthetic rubber joint venture between Lanxess and Saudi Aramco. Announced in the fall of 2015, the venture is due to be launched April 1.

Aqdot, a spin-off of the University of Cambridge, has secured about $7 million in funding from investors. Founded in 2012 on research from the university’s chemistry department, Aqdot has technology for encapsulating materials such as flavorings and detergents.

Mitsubishi Rayon and Seattle-based Arzeda will collaborate to develop an improved process for making an unnamed chemical building block. Arzeda designs enzymes for novel fermentation processes.

CTI BioPharma has halted a Phase III clinical trial of pacritinib, a treatment for the blood-related cancer myelofibrosis, at the request of FDA. According to the Seattle-based biotech firm, the agency found the drug had a detrimental effect on patient survival.

UCB and Baylor College of Medicine have formed a research alliance to find therapies for people with neurodegenerative diseases. The work will be led by Baylor professor Huda Zoghbi, who uses functional genetics in model organisms to identify points of intervention for new medicines.