Business Roundup

BASF plans to build engineering plastics and thermoplastic polyurethane plants at the big petrochemical complex it is planning for Zhangjiang, China. BASF says the facilities will open in 2022 and be the first production plants at the new site.

Amyris, a developer of chemicals made from sugar, has received its first $10 million milestone payment from Lavvan for progress on a fermentation pathway for cannabinoids. Lavvan says its first cannabinoid product, set to launch next year, will be higher purity and lower cost than similar products.

Momentive’s sale to a consortium of South Korean companies has been completed. The deal for the silicones maker was valued at $3.1 billion.

Shell Chemical has selected its complex in Geismar, Louisiana, as the site for a planned ethylene glycol plant. The company is still conducting feasibility studies for the plant, which is expected to cost $1.2 billion.

Givaudan has acquired Golden Frog, a Vietnamese natural flavor, extract, and essential oil company. Golden Frog has 156 employees and is an expert in Southeast Asia’s consumer markets.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is investing $50 million to expand production of single-use bioprocess container systems. Output will increase at plants in Cramlington, England; Logan, Utah; and Millersburg, Pennsylvania.

WuXi AppTec’s STA Pharmaceutical unit will be a preferred supplier to Dizal Pharmaceutical. WuXi already supplies process optimization and manufacturing for a drug under development at Dizal, a joint venture between AstraZeneca and a Chinese investment fund.

Genentech has signed a license agreement with Parvus Therapeutics, a ­Canadian firm developing peptide-containing complexes, called Navacims, that have immunoregulatory properties. The pact is worth up to $800 million for Parvus.