Business Roundup

Syngenta is working with Biotalys to develop and commercialize biological insecticides with new modes of action. Biotalys screens large protein libraries for promising molecules and hopes to soon launch a biofungicide.

Dow has signed Linde on as a partner for the hydrogen-fueled ethylene cracker complex it is planning at its site in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Linde would own and operate an autothermal reformer at its nearby site that would create H₂ and capture the CO₂.

BlackRock, a US private investment firm, now owns just over 5% of the Belgian chemical firm Solvay, according to a notification required under Belgian law. BlackRock had owned 3% of the firm for about a year.

Indorama Ventures is looking for a new partner to help build a US battery solvents plant after Capchem, which was to supply the underlying technology, pulled out of the project.

Bostik, the adhesives arm of the French chemical maker Arkema, has launched a wash-off label adhesive for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers that are used at temperatures below 4.4 °C. The water-based acrylic adhesive should ease the mechanical PET recycling process, Bostik says.

Phlow has closed a $36 million series B round and will expand its offerings for manufacturing pharmaceuticals. The US firm aims to encourage domestic production of the entire drug pipeline, from key starting materials to finished drugs, to avoid disruptions in the medical supply chain that may arise from international threats.

Assertio Holdings will buy the cancer drug company Spectrum Pharmaceuticals for about $248 million. The deal gives Assertio access to Rolvedon, Spectrum’s injectable drug to lower the incidence of infection related to certain chemotherapies. Rolvedon was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in September 2022.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Stablix have announced a collaboration on targeted protein stabilization treatments. Stablix will receive an up-front payment and potential milestones of undisclosed value, and Vertex will be on the hook for research costs.