Business Roundup

ICL, a specialty chemical and mineral firm based in Israel, has acquired Growers Holdings, a process- and data-driven farming tool developer in Raleigh, North Carolina. ICL says the move will enhance its digital service offerings and help farmers access untapped data.

Johnson Matthey is part of a UK consortium that will build what JM calls a world-first facility to produce low-carbon hydrogen. The $17 million project will capture 600,000 metric tons per year of carbon dioxide generated during hydrogen production.

Dow CEO Jim Fitterling will become chairman of the company’s board after Dow’s annual meeting of stockholders, which is set for April 9. Fitterling has led Dow since its separation from DowDuPont last April.

MOF Technologies is one of 14 partners in a European Union project aimed at lowering the cost of capturing carbon dioxide with metal-organic frameworks. The project, called MOF4air, is getting about $12 million in funding.

Kuraray will build a facility in Zimna Wódka, Poland, for polyvinyl alcohol–based water-soluble films. Demand for the films is growing for unit-dose detergents, pharmaceuticals, and other products, the Japanese firm says.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals will pay Icagen $15 million plus potential milestone payments to acquire several preclinical programs and drug-screening technologies. Icagen focuses on ion channel drug discovery and has programs with Roche and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Nagase Group, a Japanese chemical trading company, is acquiring Wisconsin-based Interfacial Consultants. Nagase says it will tap Interfacial’s skill in developing advanced thermoplastic materials for medical, consumer, and other markets.

Carb-X, a public-private partnership focused on stemming the threat of bacteria, will give Lytica Therapeutics up to $5.3 million to develop antibacterial peptides against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Lytica could get another $11.6 million as its compounds, called stapled antimicrobial peptides, progress in development.