Business Roundup

BASF and Tecnalia, a Spanish research and technology services company, have formed a digital collaboration to accelerate R&D of crop protection products. The firms first partnered in 2014 on projects that included automated image recognition of plants, pests, and diseases.

Merck KGaA will spend $21 million to build an electronics technology center at its site in Shanghai. Merck says the facility, which is set to open in 2022, will help it serve a growing local customer base of consumer electronics makers.

Showa Denko has formed a venture with Chengdu Kemeite Special Gas to produce and sell high-purity gases for electronics at a factory in Chengdu, China. The plant will begin producing tetrafluoromethane, a gas used for etching semiconductors, in early 2021.

Wacker Chemie has started building a production line for silane-terminated polymers at its site in Nünchritz, Germany, which is due to open in 2022. The polymers are used in applications such as binders for adhesives and sealants.

LG Chem will use renewable hydrocarbons from Neste in place of fossil feedstocks in the production of polymers and chemicals. Neste has similar supply agreements with European chemical makers such as Covestro and Borealis.

Albany Molecular Research has landed a contract to supply clascoterone, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Cassiopea’s acne treatment, Winlevi. A 1% cream formulation of the product won US approval in August.

Novasep and Handl Therapeutics will jointly develop a gene therapy drug candidate based on an adeno-associated virus (AAV) to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Novasep will manufacture AAV vectors and the finished drug in Belgium.

Affimed has licensed AFM32, a bispecific antibody being developed for cancer, to Roivant Sciences for $60 million and up to $2 billion in milestone payments. Roivant has an option to license other antibodies in the same family.