Business Roundup

DuPont will spend $220 million to expand ­production of Kapton polyimide film and Pyralux ­laminated circuit board ­materials at its Circleville, Ohio, facility. The new capacity will come on line in 2021 to supply consumer electronics, telecommunication, defense, and automotive customers.

OCI, a fertilizer and methanol producer with plants in the US, Europe, and Africa, says it has been approached by a firm interested in buying its methanol business. Published reports say the Saudi company Sabic is interested in the business.

J.M. Huber will acquire Miller Chemical & Fertilizer from Dunes Point Capital. Miller, based in Hanover, Pennsylvania, has 100 employees and makes crop-protection chemicals, fertilizers, and other horticultural products.

Carbon Engineering, a Canadian developer of a chemical method for capturing CO₂ from the atmosphere, has received a $6 million investment from the mining company BHP. Carbon Engineering recently won investments from Chevron and Occidental Petroleum.

Celanese plans to add a polymerization line for ­thermoplastic copolyesters at its plant in Ferrara, Italy. The new capacity is due to be operational within 18 months.

Kite, the subsidiary of Gilead Sciences making cell therapies for cancer, has ­expanded its collaboration with MaxCyte to develop CAR-T therapies for up to 10 targets. MaxCyte uses electrical fields to get molecules, including DNA and RNA, into cells without viral vectors.

STA Pharmaceutical, the contract development and manufacturing arm of WuXi AppTec, will work with China’s Ark Biosciences to develop therapies for viral infection and respiratory disease. Ark will use China’s Marketing Authorization Holder pilot program, which is designed to expedite drug approvals in the country.

Synthego, a provider of CRISPR gene-editing services, is offering a total of $1 million in reagents and other services to labs working on novel or interesting uses of genome engineering. Applications are due through the firm’s website by March 29.