Business Roundup

Olin has temporarily shut epoxy resin production at its Stade, Germany, plant, which had been operating at less than 50% of capacity. Slow demand has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, Olin says, and the site faces high costs for natural gas and electricity.

Mitsui Chemicals plans to stop making purified terephthalic acid, a polyester raw material, at its Iwakuni-Ohtake works in Japan in August 2023. The company says the plant faces stiff competition from producers abroad, particularly in China.

Vantage Specialty Chemicals has purchased the biobased chemical maker Jeen International for an undisclosed sum. Vantage, which is owned by H.I.G. Capital, says the move is part of its expansion in personal care ingredients.

Ginkgo Bioworks has signed a deal to buy FGen, a Swiss microbial strain development and optimization firm. Ginkgo says it will integrate FGen’s ultra-high-throughput screening system into its own screening platform.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has acquired Max Analytical Technologies, a provider of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) systems for gas analysis. Thermo Fisher says the purchase adds gas analysis to its FTIR portfolio.

Novasep will spend about $5.6 million to further expand production capacity for highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients at its site in Le Mans, France. The drug services firm says the project is a response to growing demand for antibody-drug conjugates to treat cancer.

AbbVie will work with Gedeon Richter to develop novel dopamine receptor modulators for neuropsychiatric diseases. The pact is based on preclinical research conducted by Richter and includes several new chemical entities, AbbVie says.

Precirix has raised $88 million in series B funding from venture capital investors. The Belgian firm will use the funds to advance its radiolabeled single-domain antibodies for various cancers.