Business Roundup

BASF has built a second plant at its site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, for its acResin brand ultraviolet curing acrylic hot-melt adhesives. The expansion, which cost “tens of millions of euros,” doubled capacity for the products, used in pressure-sensitive adhesives for food labels and tape for the automotive and construction industries.

Deinove, a French biomaterials start-up, has signed a deal with Dow to codevelop a novel cosmetic active ingredient derived from bacterial extracts. Dow plans to add the active ingredient to its personal care portfolio in the early part of 2021.

Malvern Panalytical has partnered with the University of Pittsburgh’s Energy Storage Technologies Center to analyze and identify battery materials that could improve cell phone and electric vehicle battery life. To further that goal, the center will use a newly installed Empyrean X-ray diffraction system from Malvern.

Lygos received a $2 million grant from the US Department of Energy to develop artificial intelligence and machine-learning approaches to biomanufacturing. Lygos will collaborate with the Agile BioFoundry, a consortium of DOE national laboratories advancing biomanufacturing.

Cayman Chemical has acquired Matreya, a lipid biochemical firm in State College, Pennsylvania. Matreya’s sphingolipids, phospholipids, and other standards are used in biotechnology and pharmaceutical research.

Bristol-Myers Squibb unveiled key leadership changes to its R&D organization, to be timed with the completion of its pending merger with Celgene. Celgene’s head of research, Rupert Vessey, will become president of research and early development, while BMS’s current chief scientific officer, Tom Lynch, will leave the company Oct. 1, 2019.

Vibalogics, a contract development and manufacturing firm with 50 employees, is being acquired by Ampersand Capital Partners. Vibalogics says the deal will allow it to expand its process development and manufacturing capabilities for viral products.

Bluebird Bio has picked Apceth Biopharma, a subsidiary of Hitachi Chemical, to be the manufacturer in Europe of Zynteglo, a gene therapy for the blood disorder β-thalassemia. The European Commission recently approved Zynteglo for certain people with the condition.