Business Roundup

Arlanxeo, the synthetic rubber division of Saudi Aramco, intends to close its ethylene propylene diene monomer plant in Orange, Texas, in the second quarter of next year. The division, formerly Lanxess’s rubber business, will continue producing butadiene rubber and hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber in Orange.

MonoSol plans to build a plant in Poland for its polyvinyl alcohol–based water-soluble films and to expand its facility in Lebanon, Indiana. The firm, a division of Kuraray, says demand for the films continues to grow for unit-dose cleaning products.

Hexion is expanding phenolic resins capacity in Brimbank, Australia, to meet growing demand for the resins, used as a binder for lumber products. The firm intends to bring a new reactor on line at the site in 2021.

BASF has increased alkyl polyglucoside surfactant capacity at its plant in Jinshan, China, by 50%, to 30,000 metric tons per year. The firm says it has approvals to undertake a similar-sized expansion in the near future.

Firmenich has acquired Evonik’s CO₂-extraction business in Trostberg, Germany. Firmenich says the acquisition will enhance its ability to provide authentic taste and scent “experiences” from plants.

Thermo Fisher Scientific will spend $24 million at its site in Inchinnan, Scotland, to expand capacity for liquid cell culture media. The firm says the project, which complements a dry-media expansion announced in 2015, will be complete in 2021.

Tmunity Therapeutics, a cell therapy spin-off from the University of Pennsylvania, has raised $75 million in series B financing to build out its viral vector and cell therapy manufacturing facility. The start-up recently announced data suggesting that its CRISPR gene-edited cell therapy is safe.

T3D Therapeutics, a start-up in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, has raised $15 million to launch a Phase II clinical trial of its small molecule for Alzheimer’s disease. The compound activates PPAR δ and γ, which are involved in glucose and lipid metabolism.