Business Roundup

Huntsman plans a “multi-million dollar” investment in Pétfürdő, Hungary, to expand capacity for polyurethane catalysts and specialty amines by 2023. The Hungarian government is awarding Huntsman a $3.8 million grant for the project.

Asahi Kasei is exiting the clear styrene block copolymer business and shutting down production by 2023, citing deteriorating profitability in the business. The company has been making the polymers in Kawasaki, Japan, since 1982.

Nouryon plans to build a plant in Southeast Asia that can produce 15,000–20,000 metric tons per year of ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, an additive for water-based paints and coatings. Nouryon expects to choose a site for the plant by year-end and open it by mid-2024.

Kumho Petrochemical and the US recycling firm Agilyx are exploring using Agilyx’s polystyrene depolymerization technology in a new plant in South Korea. Kumho aims to use the resulting styrene to make styrene-butadiene rubber for tires.

Avantor has completed a capacity expansion at its buffer-solution plant in Gliwice, Poland, and started work on a similar expansion in Aurora, Ohio. Such buffers are used by pharmaceutical firms throughout drug development and production.

Lynk Pharmaceuticals has raised $50 million in series B financing to develop small-molecule drugs for autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cancer. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved investigational new drug applications for three drugs in the company’s pipeline.

Asher Bio has raised $108 million in series B financing to continue development of AB248, an immunotherapy that stimulates certain T cells to produce interleukin-2 (IL-2). IL-2 is a potent antitumor cytokine that many companies are trying to develop into a next-generation cancer treatment.