Business Roundup

Eastman Chemical will expand capacity for cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM), a polyester resin modifier, by 15,000 metric tons per year at its plant in Kings­port, Tenn. Eastman says the 18-month project will help meet growing demand for products such as its Tritan copolyester.

Dow Chemicalplans to acquire an additional 15% in the petrochemical maker Sadara Chemical from its partner Saudi Aramco, making the firms equal shareholders. The deal will occur after Dow­DuPont spins off its materials company in about 18 months.

Shin-Etsu Chemical will invest $22 million to expand silicones capacity at its plant in Akron, Ohio. Since 2014, the Japanese company has also expanded capacity in Thailand and Japan, built a silicones R&D center in Japan, and opened a silicones support center in New Jersey.

Merck KGaA and partners in the electronics industry have set up an incubator lab for start-up electronics companies in Yavne, Israel. The partners will invest about $25 million in the project, called PMatX. It will run for an initial period of three years.

Frutarom Industries has acquired 9% of Enzymotec for $24 million, bringing its holdings in the maker of lipid active ingredients to 19%. Frutarom now plans to make a tender offer to buy the remaining 81% of Enzymotec from shareholders.

Lonza’sdrug product services arm will expand its facility in Basel for services including formulation development, drug product analytics, and quality control. The expansion will create 50 new positions.

ImmunoGen has sold Jazz Pharmaceuticals the right to opt into commercialization of two hematology-related antibody-drug conjugates. ImmunoGen will get $75 million up front and up to $100 million in other payments.

AstraZeneca and Berg, a drug discovery informatics firm, will work together to identify targets and therapies for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Boston-based Berg applies probability-based algorithms to patient genotypes and phenotypes.